


The Course of a River

by aria_dc_al_fine



Series: The Course of a River [1]
Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arranged Marriage, M/M, Politics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-04
Updated: 2015-09-20
Packaged: 2018-03-05 08:40:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 32,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3113339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aria_dc_al_fine/pseuds/aria_dc_al_fine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Why did I have to run into Kassim that time?” What if he didn't? This is a politically convoluted story where Alibaba got to be King, was blackmailed to marry a royalty of Kou, and went through the process of elimination to finally tie the knot with Hakuryuu...or would he?</p><p>AKA where the author has fun making Alibaba act Kingly and flirt with Kou Princes.</p><p>Latest chapter summary:<br/> <br/><i>Hakuryuu steeled himself. “Please take me along with you, the next time you sneak out in Balbadd.”</i></p><p> </p><p>  <i>The fourth Prince watched those amber eyes widening in comprehension. “Hakuryuu…” there was awe in his face, a little disbelief, before Alibaba-dono took Hakuryuu’s hand and placed one knee on the ground. “Thank you,” he whispered reverently as he pressed his forehead against said hand. “I promise I will protect and take care of you.”</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Event that Changed Fate

**Author's Note:**

> 11 words: King Alibaba and Prince Consort Hakuryuu of the Kingdom of Balbadd. This idea led me to three-four days of thinking on how to let this happen and still enable events in the anime - like meeting Aladdin, conquering Amon's dungeon, etc - to occur. And I think I managed to wrangle a semblance of a sensible plot? We'll see.
> 
> A river can change its course, but will ultimately still head for the sea.

“After the battle of the Eastern Plains, the people of Tenka…”

‘It’s unusually cold,’ Alibaba shuddered as his tutor droned on, amber eyes staring at the darkening sky beyond the tiny hole of a window in his study room. ‘And the sea breezes sound strong. Surely, the flimsy tents of the slums won’t be able to keep the cold out…’

‘…I wonder how they’re doing?’

“Your Highness!” The third Prince of the Kingdom of Balbadd was snapped out of his musing. “Have you been paying attention to me?” the middle-aged scholar heaved a loud long-suffering sigh.

“Of course!” the blonde boy grinned charmingly.

The tutor squinted at his charge, completely unconvinced. “It’s just another half an hour, Your Highness,” he pleaded.

The Prince appeared admonished. “I understand.”

Yet, as soon as the scholar opened his mouth again, Alibaba’s mind wandered.

‘Is tonight the night?’ the royalty asked himself.

They were suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Your Highness,” a nondescript man in the beige, yellow and maroon uniform of a guard, utterly undistinguishable from the men cluttering the hallways, entered. “His Majesty requested your presence is in the throne room.”

Alibaba blinked, and barely managed to stop his jaws from dropping.

The throne room? At this hour!? When the ruler of this Kingdom had been ill?

“Are you sure? It’s quite late,” Alibaba pointed at the stars twinkling on the evening sky outside, like diamonds spilled on a velvety carpet. “His Majesty should be resting…”

Also, why would the King want to see him in the throne room!? Alibaba had never been involved in the governance of his country.

“I received the order directly from His Majesty,” the guard confirmed. “Your Highness, please,” he bowed and gestured.

The pit of Alibaba’s stomach began to churn as he made his way to the throne room. A jumble of questions started firing in his mind, driving him restless. The ten minute walk had never felt so long.

“Prince Alibaba Saluja,” the blonde jumped out of his skin as he was announced.

And nearly doubled over, because _everyone_ was there. Every noble and official of importance.

“Oh, here he is,” a frail voice spoke over the chatters that quietened upon his entry. “Come here.” Alibaba’s eyes were riveted to the ruler on the raised platform, supported by two servants as he sagged against the chair that threatened to swallow him. No amount of jewelry or fabric could hide how pale his face was.

Alibaba frowned inwardly as he lowered himself to one knee in front of the man who had brought him into this fortress three years ago. “Your Majesty,” he bowed his head.

“Rise, my son,” Alibaba’s eyes widened in shock. The King had very, very rarely addressed him as such. “Come stand next to me,” the grey-haired monarch commanded.

Alibaba raised his head…and inhaled sharply. Next to the King…closer to him than his brothers, Ahbmad and Sahbmad. Wasn’t that…disrespectful? Ahbmad would be angry!

The King seemed to have sensed Alibaba’s hesitation. He extended a hand toward the blonde. “Come,” he repeated.

Alibaba obeyed and climbed up the steps immediately. Having the King order twice was rude enough as it was. Before he settled in his position, the blonde felt the first Prince’s glare stabbing his back like a physical attack.

‘ _What’s happening?’_ The whole time, one question overpowered the rest and bounced off the insides of his skull, a loud echo in his head.

“My retainers,” the elderly King raised his voice, finally addressing his subjects. “I apologize for having called you to gather at such an unreasonable hour. I have an important announcement to deliver.”

Whispers returned to the hall instantaneously, a frantic buzz like that of bees defending their hives, until some began to shush their colleagues. Within ten seconds, silence reigned over the place again, all eyes on the throne with one word in their minds.

Succession.

Prince Alibaba had caught some of the sentences.

“The next King will surely be Prince Ahbmad, right?”

“He’s been managing the court for a while, after all.”

“Prince Sahbmad has neither the desire nor the fortitude, as well…”

“But…what is he doing here?”

The last one was directed at him, Alibaba knew. Half of those stares were on him, heavy with expectations and puzzlement the blond royalty also shared.

The King exhaled, the breath rattling his thin chest. Standing so close to the Patriarch, Alibaba could hear it, and his concern returned.

“As you all know, I don’t have much longer,” the long-haired man began again, and before anyone could cut him off with empty appeasements, the ruler of Balbadd tapped his staff on the floor. “This is my last edict. My heir…the person who would be the 23rd King of Balbadd is…”

Alibaba could _see_ everyone craning their necks in anticipation. It was so palpable.

A hand landed on his shoulder, causing his heart to skip a beat. “My third son, Prince Alibaba Saluja!” the King of Balbadd finished his declaration.

There was a moment where everyone was blinking, gasping, dropping his jaws or all of the above. Nobody said anything, until the shock dispersed and comprehension filled everyone’s expression.

“Fath-Your Majesty!” Alibaba was the first to exclaim. He dropped his weight on his knee and clasped his hands in front of his monarch. “T-that’s not possible-”

“He’s right!” Ahbmad yelled and swung his arm in a wide gesture of displeasure. “At least the street urchin is smart enough to recognize that! Haha,” he sneered as he pointed a finger at the kowtowing Alibaba, before the older boy addressed his sire, “I’m the first son! The Crown Prince of Balbadd! It’s my right to be the next King-”

“Who said so!?” The King bellowed at the top of his lungs.

The court was stunned.

“And my blood…the royal blood of Saluja runs in Alibaba,” the King continued as he leaned on his staff to rise to his feet. Alibaba and the two servants on the elderly ruler’s side quickly rushed to his aid. “Insulting him is akin to insulting me!”

“Y-your Majesty!” The man was quivering badly. Alibaba was anxious. “Please take it easy! Your health-”

“Besides,” the King ignored the blonde boy, pulled out a wad of paper from his pocket, and threw them to his first son’s face. “Could you explain what these mean!? Ahbmad!”

One of the notes fell near his feet. Alibaba looked at it, the stamp ‘Kou Empire’ inked in red, and a denomination ‘100’ written on the paper.

“So you’ve found them, Father!” Prince Ahbmad looked so proud when he answered the older man. “They’re ‘Fuan’! They were introduced to me by Markkio the banker, a brilliant financial adviser who has fixed the economic woes of other countries before. These notes could be exchanged with various goods, isn’t that awesome? I’ve entrusted everything to them! We don’t have to worry about the standstill with Parthevia!”

Alibaba…couldn’t believe what he’d heard. Paper money? Entrusting everything to the bankers? He’d only had three years of education under his belt, but his instincts told him…these didn’t sound right.

The King gritted his teeth. “How could you have said that so guilelessly?!” he spat, before the words ended in a terrible bout of coughing.

“Your Majesty!” Alibaba patted his back as the two servants guided the ailing monarch back to the throne.

“Listen,” the elderly man persisted, despite how tightly he was clutching his chest from the white of his knuckles. “For a trading port like Balbadd, the economy is the heart, the blood vessels of the country! Are you telling me you have handed our heart away to this…this banker!?”

The courtiers huddled amongst each other and started murmuring discussions under their breaths while keeping half an eye on the drama unfolding on the platform. Chaos was brewing.

Ahbmad’s face was nearly as grey as the notes that had been flung at him. “B-but…everything has worked well!”

“Alibaba,” the King turned to the blonde suddenly. “Tell me what the problem with paper currency is.”

“Ha…” the third Prince was torn for having been placed on the spot. Surely…brother Ahdmad had weighed the pros and cons of the decision before going through with it, right? And brother Ahdmad had been studying way, way longer than him, right?

The man who had pretty much ignored his existence in the palace was watching him like he was the only thing in this room, before his lips curved upward. “It’s all right,” his fragile voice soothed, “I know you are good at Economics, Alibaba.”

“I…” confidence began to grow within Alibaba, like a fresh sprout off the soil. The blonde boy recalled an interaction he’d encountered in a practical economics session. “I had seen a merchant refusing to trade his goods for these ‘Fuan’. He said, ‘I only trust gold or silver.’” The third Prince’s voice grew stronger as nobody interrupted him. “I thought about it afterward…and realized it must be because metal currency has intrinsic value. The currency itself can be sold as goods, for example in countries where the currency is not recognized. The value of paper currency is assigned, and entirely dependent on the reputation of the issuer.”

“Then we don’t need to worry!” Prince Ahbmad argued in irritation. The look he was casting Alibaba…it was as though he was a dog and not human, not his half-brother. “Kou’s power has been rising steadily as an expanding empire, and will only continue to increase! All the more reason we should stock up ‘Fuan’!”

Alibaba shook his head. “No…” he wouldn’t back down from a debate this time; he had to say his piece. “Both metal and paper currency are vulnerable to changes in demand and supply, but the value of metal currency cannot fluctuate much, because mining and minting coins take time and effort. Paper currency is easier to produce, and we have no control over how much ‘Fuan’ Kou issues! If tomorrow, Kou floods the market with ‘Fuan’, we will suffer huge losses, as may be a 'Fuan' can buy two apples today, but tomorrow can only buy one!”

“Y-you-” Prince Ahbmad was rendered speechless it seemed, unable to rebut, but soon he bared his teeth in a growl. “Impertinent cretin! How dare you try to scare my court with baseless speculations!?”

A loud laughter broke through the air, cutting the tension between the two.

“T’is not your court. And you lost this round, Ahbmad,” the King placed one hand on Alibaba’s shoulder, and pulled him closer, “Alibaba is right. I have never considered Balbadd issuing a paper currency of our own, let alone relying on one issued by another country; the latter is just a disaster in the makings.” The elderly ruler smirked as he turned to his third son. This was the most lively Alibaba had seen of him in ages. “Alibaba, you have a good head on your shoulders and a heart that genuinely cares for the people of Balbadd. You may be the only one I can turn to, but I trust that you can do it.”

Alibaba blinked. He had so much fun with Economics he forgot that they were disputing on succession. “But…” he curled inward, like a sunflower in twilight.

“You won’t be alone. You will support your brother, won’t you?” The King referred to the wavy-haired young man at a corner of the platform, standing a feet behind Prince Ahbmad. “Future Deputy King Sahbmad?”

The second Prince was visibly spooked when the court swiftly remembered the existence of the royal middle son. “I-I…” the tall, gangly man’s gaze skittered all over the hall like a cornered mouse’s, before it was locked onto the blonde prince’s. “…Y-yes,” he exhaled as he straightened his frame.

Alibaba’s eyes widened. The admittance was the biggest surprise he had heard this evening.

Prince Ahbmad fumed, his eye twitching. “You…you TRAITOR!”

The eldest son seized the sword of one of the guards below the throne and charged at the second Prince.

“No!” Alibaba ran toward Sabhmad and blocked the attack by changing the direction of Ahbmad’s swing with the heel of his palm, causing the blade to land on the tiles. While the older, larger royalty was shaken by the turn events, Alibaba leaned his weight on his right foot and slipped under Ahbmad’s chin, smacking him with a head-butt. [1]

“Ah!” The physically unfit prince fall on his arse and winced as he cradled his tender jaw. “Y-you-” he glared at Alibaba intensely as he picked himself back up. “I’ll remember this!” he let out a muffled scream as he fled from the hall.

“B-br-brother!” Prince Sahbmad shouted after him.

The King sighed. “Let him be,” he literally slid down his throne. His face was bloodless. “He’ll…be back…” the sick ruler fainted.

“Your Majesty!” Alibaba panicked. “You, carry His Majesty back to his bed chamber!” He ordered the servants.

It was hours before the long-haired monarch opened his eyes again. Alibaba sat by his bedside and held vigil. He might not have felt much for this man; he'd seldom seen him after all, but it was the right thing to do.

The sensation of bony fingers carding through his hair brought him back from dreamland. Alibaba snapped to attention. “Your Majesty! Would you like anything?” he spoke in rushed words.

The man shook his head.

“…Will you accept…?” The whisper was as soft as a gust of wind. “…This country?”

Alibaba opened his mouth to refute…and thought better of it. “…Your Majesty,” he stared blankly at the blue blanket in front of him, “There is one thing I would like to ask.”

“What is it?” The ruler turned his face toward him.

Alibaba deflated a little. “Your Majesty, Mom…no, my mother, what did you feel about her?”

“…Anise?” The man was silent for a while, appearing deep in thought. “…There were too many obligations and expectations…we couldn’t be together,” his voice was tinged with sadness. “But…” he curled his fingers.

“I…loved her.”

Alibaba took a deep breath…and stared at King Rashid. For the first time, he could acknowledge that this man, the man who separated him from Kassim and Mariam, only to neglect him in the palace, was his parent.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Alibaba said with resolve. “With those words, I know I can make it here.”

And the river had changed its course.

TBC

Review please!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. I know in the anime Alibaba just blocked the sword head on with his two palms and flung it aside, but his body was smaller here, I’m not sure he could perform the same feat as he was at 18 years old.


	2. A Proposal at Sword's Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Marry into Kou Imperial family, Alibaba Saluja."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slow update. I've been working weekends. First Sunday I'm free, I wrote for you guys! *uhh stop with the self-acknowledgement, you*  
> Anyways, I'm sorry if Alibaba feels OOC. I'm trying to portray that there are two sides to him: the underdeveloped teenage boy, and the King. Please let me know if it doesn't come across. I love talking about how to improve the story in the comments!

“That damn king,” Markkio fumed.

“Huh,” Ithnan regarded his comrade…no, his colleague. “The first-class singularity?”

“Him, too,” the odd-eyed banker remarked. An inane conversation their kind normally didn’t indulge in. “But no, I’m talking about the brat of Balbadd.”

“Oh…” Ithnan cocked his head as his mind went through the images the rukh had shared amongst them. He didn’t have a lasting impression of the so-called brat, other than he was young. “…Isn’t he…wet behind the ears?”

Markkio twitched. “The nerve of him, to have ordered merchants to stop accepting Fuan, exchanged all the Fuan existing in Balbadd’s market with gold coins and refused any proposals from the bankers!”

Now Ithnan remembered. “That well-loved slum-born King.”

“Yes,” the confirmation to the statement was hissed. “He’s hindering our plans to destroy Balbadd from within.”

“Hmm,” Ithnan rubbed his chin. A smirk slowly spread on his face.

“Shall I lend you a hand, then?”

* * *

“Your Majesty, the Deputy King!”

Sahbmad Saluja nearly jumped out his skin. He blinked at the harried secretary who called him. “Yes?”

“I can’t find King Alibaba,” the bespectacled brunet ran his fingers all over his hair, pulling them in his stress. “I need to confirm the agenda for tomorrow morning’s assembly with him-”

“Calm down,” the timid royalty tried to calm his brother’s assistant before he gave himself a stomach ulcer. “Why don’t you give the document to me? I’ll find him,” he said gently.

The secretary seemed even more stressed. “I can’t possibly-”

“Adnan,” Sahbmad interrupted him. He was one of the few people the former prince was comfortable enough to order around. “I think you should go home and rest.”

The bespectacled man slumped. “…yes.”

As the secretary slogged his way out of the corridor like the weight of his head was too terrible to carry upright, Sahbmad made for his closet, his mind running through a list of possibilities. There were a few places Alibaba always went to whenever he felt like he needed a temporary escape. He would check them out first.

Indeed, Sahbmad didn’t need to search hard. Clothed in plain cottons with several guards flanking him, the long-haired royalty found his amber-eyed monarch squeezed within an inch of his life in the muscular arms of a hostess with two ponytails, small eyes and a long, crooked nose. Margaret, Sahbmad believed her name was.

“O-oh, B-brother Sahbmad,” Alibaba was trembling as he tried to crawl out of the woman’s embrace (if it could be called that), rouge smeared all over his face and neck, his disguise of a commoner’s wear torn around the collar. “Y-you’re coming to get me, aren’t you?” The teenager sounded so grateful.

Sahbmad sighed and slapped the most amiable expression he could muster to this stranger…this scary-looking hostess. “I’m so sorry to have interrupted your time together.”

Margaret replied him with a blank expression, all seven feet of muscles looming over him.

For a moment, Sahbmad feared for his life. He could sense the soldiers behind him crouching, their hands on the hilts of their hidden sword.

But his worry came to pass when the woman handed his blonde brother to him like a limp ragdoll.

“Come back again!” she sent them off cheerfully with a wave of her handkerchief.

“O-oh, my back…” Alibaba moaned as he hobbled alongside the Deputy King, leaning his weight on his older brother as the thinner man looped an arm around his waist. The stench of alcohol was thick in his breath. “You’re a life-saver…”

Sahbmad didn’t understand.

They walked back to the Palace in silence until the timid man could deposit his precious cargo to his luxurious four-poster bed.

“This is heaven,” Alibaba nuzzled the cool of his silk pillowcase. “A-ah, why do I have such terrible luck with women…”

The Deputy King couldn’t contain his question anymore. “Then why?”

The blonde King raised his head. “Huh?” he blinked blearily at his half-sibling.

Sahbmad plopped himself at the side of the boy he’d been ruling the kingdom with for over two years. The boy he’d come to admire and treasure, having shared many doubts and dreams together. “Why do you insist on going through the trouble of sneaking outside, then? There are plenty of fine female courtiers in the Palace.”

Alibaba simply stared at him, his head hanging upside down, golden locks tousled against the dark maroon of his bed sheets. The maroon of Balbadd. He was so quiet Sahbmad thought he’d fallen asleep with his eyes open (he did that during morning assembly, sometimes), but upon closer inspection, those amber eyes were lucid.

“Brother Sahbmad, do you remember your first woman?” he sounded completely sober.

The non-sequitur pulled the rug from under the Deputy King’s feet. “Huh!?” He scooted away from the blonde, flustered. “O-of c-course I-”

Sahbmad paused. He didn’t know how to continue. Would he seem overly emotional if he said yes? Would it be too obvious a lie if he said no?

Would Alibaba pity him if he said he’d never had a good experience with a woman? That it was awkward at best and felt forced the handful of times he ever bedded one?

Alibaba rolled to his front and pushed himself upright, unbothered by the silence. “Nobody looked at me when I was a bastard Prince of Balbadd,” he began in a low voice, “those lovely daughters of generals and nobilities, with seductive painted eyes and jewels on their cleavages? They used to keep their distance from me.”

The young King of Balbadd, crowned at the cusp of adulthood, shrugged. “Then all of a sudden I became a ruler, and there was never a shortage of smiles and warm bodies. Don’t you find it strange?”

Sahbmad looked up, and watched his brooding half-brother. His partner.

“I thought she was an unambitious, simple girl…” [1] The slum-born got up and strolled to the veranda, his gaze faraway. Far as the moon in the sky. The monarch shook his head and a sardonic smile graced his lips. “Only when I dress like a commoner, the truth stands out so starkly.”

“Alibaba…” Sahbmad felt helpless. Even though he understood what Alibaba went through, he didn’t know how to make him feel better.

The Deputy King tried his best, however. “Come to bed,” he placed a hand on Alibaba’s shoulder, hoping the gesture convey his will to support the monarch. “Tomorrow will be a long day.”

Alibaba let himself be tucked under the covers. “Goodnight, Brother Sahbmad,” he mumbled.

Sahbmad could only smile at the adorable sight. “Good night, Alibaba.”

* * *

And tomorrow was a long day, indeed.

“Raising taxes is the only way to go! The state of our treasury is pathetic! And with Kou becoming such a looming threat, we have to increase our nearly nonexistent defense expenditure!”

Alibaba sighed, another migraine developing behind his eyes. They were nearing noon, but nothing was resolved. The assembly would end with no progress made from yesterday. “With all due respect, Lord Mohan,” oh, how Alibaba had wanted to cut the man off before he could finish his sentence. But he couldn’t be rude to his nobility. “We have raised consumption taxes last year; any more will bring the citizens to the streets. Meddling with taxes for trade owners would just hamper business activities. We should be thinking of other ways to raise funds.”

The official snarled. “Like what!?”

As Alibaba was going to suggest some ideas like promising fixed future returns for citizens who were willing to lend money to the government [2], a guard ran into the throne room, his face pale like he’d seen a ghost.

“U-uh,” he looked around, only then realizing that he was interrupting something.

“What is it!?” the Finance Minister barked. “How dare you disrupt the morning assembly, you-”

“I-I’m so s-sorry!” The uniformed man kowtowed.

Alibaba raked his head for the name of the guard. He’d seen him around… When he couldn’t come up with anything, he simply said, “It’s okay. Please let us know what you’re here for.”

The guard nodded gingerly and inhaled deeply.

“Fleets of Kou warships are seen at the horizon,” the sentence was rushed out in a single breath.

There was one beat of stillness after the announcement, widened eyes in frozen expressions like everyone could not believe the news, until hell broke loose.

“W-we’re finished!”

“I told you, I told you to strengthen our navy!” A panicked accusation.

“G-got to go home! T-tell my wife! Got to run-”

Sahbmad curled his fingers around his brother’s arm. “A-alibaba,” he fretted. “What should we-” he spoke quickly, like he was hyperventilating.

Alibaba was snapped out of whatever thoughts he was lost in. He rose to his feet and tapped his staff against the floor. “Everyone!” he addressed his people in a booming voice. “Please calm down!”

The blonde King directed his gaze to his General. “Barkak, to mobilise.”

Everyone gasped.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the tall, imposing man dropped to his knees and replied.

Alibaba nodded, “Our priority is to maintain order in the city. Some troops will standby at the port, but there will be no offensive moves on our part, do you hear me? Meanwhile, I will contact King Sinbad.”

Immediately, relief entered everyone’s expression. “We’ll be fine,” hope overflowed the hushed reassurances the courtiers told each other.

Alibaba twitched.

Just as the blonde monarch returned to the throne and the military leader walked out of the hall, a huge eagle flew inside the room through one of the windows, majestic wings spread wide and casting shadows on the faces below. The predator was heading straight for Alibaba.

“You-” One of the guards thrust a long spear at it, but the eagle dodged, cawing as it bared its sharp talons at his attacker.

“Wait!” Alibaba saw a cloth bearing the Kou Empire’s seal attached to its ankle. “It’s a messenger!”

Three men tried to hold the angry bird down as another guard tried to wrestle a letter out of the compartment tied to its back. With arms full of scratches, they unrolled the scroll.

“Well?” Sahbmad twisted his hands nervously. “What does it say?”

“I-it…” the guard looked stunned, “P-prince Ren Kouen requested an audience with Your Majesty.”

“Prince K-kouen!?”

“He’s the Crown Prince, isn’t he?”

“Hasn’t he, like, defeated three dungeons?”

Whispers took over the assembly hall, once again.

Sahbmad bit his lip and peered at his King. “A-alibaba.”

A dark look passed over the blonde’s face as he clenched his fists. “Very well,” his gaze was hard when he held his head up. “Let’s prepare to receive our important guests.”

* * *

“The eagle has returned, Your Highness.”

Koumei took one look at the bird, and sighed. “It took so long, and it’s returned this ruffled.”

In response to its master’s dissatisfaction, the eagle pecked the hand of the attendant, as though retorting, ‘I’ll have you know it was a terrible ordeal!’

His elder brother hummed noncommittally. “No doubt one of your pigeons would have done a better job.”

“They’re not as scary, however,” Koumei waved his fan and complained, “Balbadd is ridiculously hot. What does it say?”

Another servant read the reply shoved in the compartment. “That they’ll be glad to have your presence in the Palace.”

“As predicted,” Koumei nodded, and dismissed his subordinates. “Leave us.”

The second prince was immediately obeyed.

“Let’s go, then,” Kouen put down the texts of Balbadd he was reading up on and rose to his feet.

“Not in that,” Koumei sighed. “You need better clothes.”

Kouen raised his eyebrow and looked around the empty room, as though saying, ‘Well? You’ve shooed the servants out.’

Koumei twitched, but headed for the older man’s closet. As he was giving a golden velvet overcoat the critical eye, Koumei whined, “Why do you want to see him? We have enough canons to subjugate Balbadd completely.”

Kouen looked over the window, in the direction of the trading nation’s royal residences. “King Alibaba Saluja,” he said, testing the name on his tongue, “he’s sixteen. Only Kouha’s age. Yet he leads a flourishing Kingdom. Aren’t you curious?”

Koumei paused, and glanced over, sharing the scene Kouen was viewing. “If he can be used, yes. He may just be a puppet monarch.”

Kouen threw his head back and laughed. “He may, he may not. The only way to know is to observe him in his court.”

Koumei slumped. And threw the robes he’d selected at his sibling. “Get ready, then.”

* * *

If looks could kill, the princes of Kou would have been six feet under.

Kouen was used to hostile stares. He’d taken part in subjugating other countries for over a decade, after all. Decked in five layers of silk and fine clothes, he walked down the aisle leading to the steps to the throne with wide strides, like he owned the place, completely unfazed. His intimidating household was behind him, and both he and Koumei were metal vessel users. He could not be harmed even though he was at the heart of enemy soil.

“Greetings, Your Majesties, King Alibaba and Deputy King Sahbmad,” Kouen clasped his hands together and bent his body forward in a respectful manner. His company followed suit. “I am Kouen. This is my younger brother, Koumei.”

Balbadd’s royalties…were not what Kouen had expected. The Deputy King was a timid guy who appeared like he very much wanted to disappear to the wall behind him, and the…boy King was…soft-eyed, his features rounded and gentle. He looked naïve.

Would Kouen be disappointed, after all?

Kouen did not hear any reply. The courtiers chattered noisily, grating on his nerves, until one of them raised his voice.

“Why do you not prostrate yourselves in front of our Kings?”

Another sneered. “We recognize that you are Princes from the esteemed Kou Empire, but Balbadd is ruled by our Kings. Do you not acknowledge their authority?”

Kouen dug his nails against his palm. Ah, these petty politicians. “I apologize,” he spoke in an even, blank tone as he turned to his agitators, “I did not think it a custom of yours, seeing as none of you kowtow to your Kings.”

The two appeared indignant. “You-”

King Alibaba laughed, the sound cutting through the tension. “You are right, in Balbadd, there is an old custom that touching the ground with one’s head is a prayer for a pregnant woman to have easy delivery.” The smile he presented his officials was extremely fond. “Lord Marcus and Lord Aini are well-travelled and know that this gesture has another meaning in other countries. They are just trying to look out for me.”

Interesting. With a few sentences, King Alibaba had dissolved the argument while saving everyone’s face.

“Have you visited Balbadd’s markets, Your Excellency?” The angelic-faced monarch tilted his head. “You’ll find the city quite safe, and there is no need to bring such an armada of bodyguard.”

…And, Kouen’s intention had been verbally slighted. What a man who could surprise. Swathed in pink silk, with jewels on his head, neck and arms, Alibaba Saluja looked effeminate, but there was steel in him.

“Your Majesties,” Kouen lowered himself to one knee, and smirked as he bowed his head. “I would like to request for a private audience.”

Everyone reacted with alarm.

“You’re asking us to entrust the lives of our Kings to you!?” This time, a military leader remarked.

“I will leave my men and weapon out of the room,” Kouen promised.

Koumei and his household looked at him like he was crazy.

Kouen only had eyes for Alibaba at the moment, however. He was glad there was no fear in those amber eyes. They were assessing him, like he was assessing them.

Those full lips curled upward. “Very well,” the blonde ruler assented.

“A-alibaba!” The Deputy King looked horrified.

But the blonde had rose to his feet and walked to the back of the throne room. Kouen, too, had been approached by a maid who was to lead him the way, the girl’s hands and legs shaking.

Koumei and Kouen’s household shared some looks before Koumei stepped up to him. “Brother,” the half of his face which was visible to the world looked subtly worried.

“We’ll be fine,” Kouen murmured as he handed his sword to the maid, but kept his armguard. Balbadd had never had a dungeon or involved herself in war. If he was lucky, they could have missed it.

Koumei noted Kouen’s decision, and silently slipped his fan into his long sleeve.

The two Oriental brothers sat at one end of a long mahogany table, the Kings of Balbadd at the other end. Nobody spoke for a while; Koumei was leaning back, appearing totally bored while dissecting the situation with sleepy eyes. Kouen was looking over the blonde, too, until he found his eyes riveted to the short sword tucked to his high-waisted sash, sunlight glinting off the vermilion ruby.

“Ah,” King Alibaba realized what Kouen was looking at. “I hope you don’t mind. I’ve never not carried this. It’s a memento from my father,” he took it out. “Well, indirectly. It was bestowed to King Sinbad of Sindria for their friendship. King Sinbad had been so kind to give it to me when I was grieving.”

Ah, so that was the purpose of showing the sword off. To tell them that Balbadd had the Seven Seas Alliance behind them.

“Your Excellency, you are a dungeon conqueror, aren’t you?” King Alibaba followed with a non-sequitur. “If you don’t mind, could you please share some of your experience with me? I’m a huge fan of stories of capturing a dungeon! I’ve read Uncle – ah, King Sinbad’s adventures repeatedly!”

Kouen was surprised. King Alibaba looked so enthusiastic it couldn’t have been faked.

So he indulged the younger man, going into details with the monsters he’d encountered and less on how he’d fought and what his djinns could do. If King Alibaba noticed, he didn’t say anything.

Talking to him was easy. So making friends was one of his abilities, too, huh.

After fifteen minutes, Koumei leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. “I’m tired of this,” he interrupted Kouen’s description of Astaroth’s treasure hall. “Let’s go straight to the point.”

The grin on Alibaba’s face disappeared, and Kouen caught a glimpse of that steel, again. The will to do anything for something the blonde had set his heart to. In a blink of an eye, the teenage boy was replaced by a King.

“Balbadd will not submit ourselves to Kou on a silver platter,” Alibaba declared.

Koumei flicked his head to get his bangs out of his face. “You’ve seen our warships lined up on your shore.”

“ _Uncle_ Sinbad has promised aid,” as expected, the young King laid that card on the table, bringing up the close relation. “Besides,” King Alibaba rested his chin on his head and taunted, “One doesn’t cut the legs off a Fanalis to enslave him. You won’t get your money’s worth back.”

So the boy knew. Balbadd’s worth was as a trading post, and war would cause merchants to flock to other cities along the shore, may be even develop a new trading post. Kouen couldn’t help but chuckle.

Koumei blinked at the first Prince. “Brother,” his voice was sharp. They were trying to negotiate, here.

But the outcome Koumei was aiming for, the original outcome they had agreed on, was no longer Kouen’s. Because an idea just formed in Kouen’s mind.

“Kou Empire only lets family keep all their limbs,” the General Commander of the Western Subjugation Army crossed his legs and smirked smugly. “You know what I mean, don’t you?”

“I…I don’t…” The blonde King was stunned. Oh, how Kouen enjoyed the sight.

“Marry into Kou Imperial family, Alibaba Saluja.”

TBC

Review please!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. This scene is inspired by this doujinshi: http://hayarashi.tumblr.com/post/98066088960/if-it-turned-out-either-hakuyuu-or-hakuren-have and vol 13 omake http://youdontknowthings.tumblr.com/post/31032620330/magi-volume-13-extras-vol-3-vol-4-vol  
> I know Alibaba is Magi's resident adorkable virgin, but I doubt girls would continue to not want him if he's crowned King..and Kings have a duty to conceive heirs. Yes, I'm aware I'm changing something that is a fundamental part of his character. I am trying to be careful, as well. I always check, 'hmm, does he sound too much like Sinbad?'  
> Criticisms are very much welcome!  
> 2\. Yes, government bonds. My background is showing…


	3. The King of Hearts

“W-what!?”

King Alibaba stood up so fast his chair toppled backward.

“M-marry in-into? What do you mean? I’m male; I can’t be a bride! And I’m the King of Balbadd! I can’t be a Prince Consort of Kou and abandon Balbadd-”

Koumei blinked as his opponent went on and on like a startled horse [1]. “Breathe, Your Majesty,” he hid his snicker under his fan.

The blonde teen blushed and glared at Koumei in his embarrassment. He cleared his throat and turned to Kouen. “Explain,” he ordered.

Koumei twitched. The brat was lucky they were in his territory. Brother wouldn’t have stood for this kind of behaviour back home.

“I meant to offer a familial relation with you, Your Majesty,” Kouen’s smile was slick as an eel, proof of his anger. Koumei felt his muscles gearing for a flight or fight response. “For you to marry an Imperial Princess of Kou…” his eyes slid to the side, before finishing in a firm tone. “And completely cut Balbadd’s ties with Sindria.”

King Alibaba’s eyes widened, now fully understanding the implication of the offer.

“We don’t care much about Balbadd’s economy,” Koumei followed up with another shocking statement, completely shattering his opponents’ assumptions. “We want Balbadd to establish a military base here. Her strategic location is pivotal to further Kou’s land and naval expansion to the West,” as the Saluja fell silent, Koumei proceeded to corner them. “The trading profits are just…a bonus.”

Despair began to fill the Deputy King’s face as he realized one of their arguments was ineffective.

“We are determined to achieve our goals, by _any_ means,” the second Prince struck a blow in that moment of weakness, making it _very_ clear that war with Sindria – heck, war with the Seven Seas Alliance was no issue.  It was bound to happen one day. Why not now?

“Y-you-!” Colours began to leave the blonde’s cheeks, yet his eyes were so fiery, those twin pools of liquid gold.

“As good Kings of Balbadd, I’m sure you would prefer to _spare_ your people the harshness of war and the poverty that is sure to occur in the aftermath,” Kouen leveraged on the desperation his younger brother had wrought in the two opposing royalties. “We can spare you your lives and some authority over Balbadd…only if you enter Kou’s Imperial family, effectively swearing loyalty to Kou.”

“And let us have our military base,” Koumei reminded. “Think of it as a wedding present to us.”

King Alibaba continued to stare at them. And laughed. “ _Some_?” he slammed the tabletop with his palms. “Do you take me as an idiot? Today, you say, ‘just a military base.’ Tomorrow, you’ll demand for control over Balbadd’s fiscal policies, I’m sure!”

Koumei only smiled, a slow spread of his lips. He knew very well how menacing his expression was.

“A war? Or no war? Your answer should be obvious.”

Kouen rose to his feet and left the room, his brother in his wake.

The job was done.

* * *

“What was that?”

As soon as they were in the safety of Kou’s ships, Koumei questioned Kouen’s unexpected proposal.

Kouen merely sat behind his table and reopened a scroll he was reading this morning.

Koumei thought he was going to be ignored, until he heard his brother’s voice over the quiet strokes of a brush on paper. “You don’t find him someone we can use?”

Koumei sighed as he settled next in his bed. “I do. He has an aptitude I do not possess, flexible and brave in interacting with people with power and influence. He manages his court adeptly, considering he was born from a peasant woman.” 

“But,” Kouen gave voice to the doubts in Koumei’s head, “you don’t think him useful enough to bring into the family.”

Koumei closed his eyes. “We are ready for a war with the Seven Seas Alliance.”

Kouen hummed. “As long as Reim does not take the chance to attack Rakushou while we are occupied.”

And Sindria, with the Seven Seas Alliance built on non-aggression, could not risk making an offensive move on Rakushou unprovoked while Kou advanced on Reim.

Lesser of two evils. [2]

“We still have Kourin and Kougyoku to marry off,” Kouen said when all Koumei replied with was silence.

“Kourin is engaged,” Koumei sighed again. He knew his brother had forgotten.

Kouen waved his hand dismissively. “Still unmarried. Semantics.”

Koumei chuckled. Kouen was so predictable.

* * *

Alibaba was so still.

Sahbmad was scared. “A-alibaba-”

“I’ll update King Sinbad myself,” the blonde interrupted, his face still devoid of emotions. He stood up and walked back to his bed chamber as though in a daze.

“ _Hey,”_ Sinbad’s voice drifted from the Eye of the Rukh he’d managed to dig out of his dresser. The small gem of which rainbows were reflected, infused with Clairvoyant Magic so the two Kings could communicate anytime. The proof of his hero’s trust in him. “ _How did it go? What did Prince Kouen say?_ ”

Alibaba opened his mouth, and froze. He didn’t know what to say.

Silence filled the air, growing more and more oppressive with each passing breath.

“ _…Alibaba_.” The blonde flinched when the older King, his idol, spoke again. The wise man had a knack of accurately predicting the outcome of a scenario. ‘ _Please guess it correctly,’_ Alibaba couldn’t help but wish, ‘ _I can’t bear to say that..._ _I’ll have to betray you.’_

“ _Do I need to order my army to mobilise soon?”_ The genuine concern in Sinbad’s voice caused guilt to pierce through Alibaba’s heart.

“…No,” he finally replied, weakly. “Prince Kouen, he…suggested that I marry one of his sisters,” Alibaba shriveled as soon as he finished the sentence, scared for Sinbad’s judgment.

“ _I see,”_ Alibaba couldn’t tell what the Sindrian monarch felt in the two words, but he didn’t have to wait long. “ _I’ve heard of this before…Kou has eight Imperial Princesses and five – or is it six? – have been married off to rulers of certain territories that were…Invaded is not the appropriate word to use; assimilated into Kou is more fitting. Isn’t this a good thing? Prince Kouen does not offer this to everyone, doesn’t he?”_

By the end of it, the purple-haired man sounded _happy_ for Alibaba, and the blonde King couldn’t stand it anymore. “He wants me to cut off ties with Sindria!” He blurted before Sinbad could say anything more.

 _‘Please,’_ Alibaba hoped fervently as he waited, ‘ _tell me you have a solution. You always had a solution for me when I consulted you before. Please, save me!’_

This time, the silence from the Eye of the Rukh crushed Alibaba’s soul.

“ _…Alibaba,”_ the young monarch flinched. “ _We’re Kings. I know you have to act on what’s best for your people. Don’t beat yourself up.”_

“S-sin-” Alibaba’s sight blurred. Sinbad’s tone…was too gentle. He did not deserve it, did not deserve Sinbad’s forgiveness and easy acceptance of Alibaba turning his back against him. The older King had always been his anchor, when he was a lonely bastard Prince looking for an escape, and later on, when he was a fledgling half-commoner monarch trying to rule over a court of aristocrats who belittled him. His mentor had always been there for him, ready with countless advices, encouragements and stories of his adventures to cheer the teen up…

Alibaba tried to hold back his sob. “Sinbad, I-”

“ _I trust you, Alibaba.”_ The blonde could hear the smile on his hero’s voice, so palpable it was. “ _We’ll still be allies when push comes to shove_ [3] _. Just…a word, if you don’t mind?”_

Alibaba was grateful for the change in topic. He was seriously about to flood the magical device with his tears. “Yes? What is it?” He shot eagerly.

King Sinbad did not reply straight away. “ _Alibaba, I know…”_ he began, then paused. Alibaba hated how hesitant his…friend was, how there was a distance between them now. And it was all his fault. “ _You believe in true love, and you want to marry someone you love…Are you fine with this?”_

Alibaba’s cheeks burned in shame. Even now, Sinbad was still worried about him. “Like you said…we’re Kings.”

“ _I know you’re a man of great integrity. You’re righteous, so you’ll try to love the person you marry. I admire this quality of yours but please…Alibaba, don’t give your heart away to this Princess of Kou.”_

The teenage King squeezed his eyes till he saw the red of his eyelids. He…didn’t think that far ahead yet. But oh, God, Sinbad was right again, wasn’t he?

Would he have to live the rest of his life wary of the woman he shared his bed with?

_Would they even share a bed?_

“ _Alibaba?_ ” Alibaba must have gone on without a reply for too long. “ _I’m sorry, did I-?_ ”

“N-no, you’re not wrong,” Alibaba massaged his temple.

“ _You’ve got to preserve your bloodline, as well,”_ Sinbad continued while the blonde was still trying to come to terms with a vision of his future. “ _There is little one can do to prove the paternity of a child. If you’re not careful, Balbadd may be inherited by a child of Kou, either by nature or nurture._ ”

Alibaba felt sick. What Sinbad was insinuating…he wasn’t naïve enough to declare that it would not happen. Royalties cheat. He was a child born out of infidelity, himself. Yet, he didn’t want to accept…

Then, Sinbad said the magic words. “ _We could circumvent this problem altogether.”_  

Alibaba grasped at straws like a drowning man. “How?”

“ _It’s like this…”_

* * *

Ja’far put down his quill when the King exhaled deeply, like he was exhausted. The pale-haired administrator got up to request a passing maid for some beverage, before returning to the man he’d vowed his life to.

“Was that really the best we could do?” He’d been listening in when King Alibaba contacted Sin through the Eye of the Rukh. “Letting go of the harvest reaped from Balbadd?”

“Resistance would just be met by resistance, and leave a bitter taste,” the long-haired monarch leaned back on his chair and pressed his fingers on his eyes, to soothe the dull ache behind them.

“And guilt is a more effective chain,”Ja’far couldn’t help but snipe as he handed the King a glass of water. [2]

Sin’s response was merely an amused chuckle as their fingers brushed. “You know me too well.”

* * *

_Sinbad blinked at the official he was talking to. “King Rashid is…dead?”_

_“Yes,” the man who received him bowed and hid his face in the hands he’d brought together in a gesture meant for respect._

_“I see,” the Sindrian King sighed. He’d been so busy exploring the world and establishing his Kingdom, he forgot to visit the man who had taught him everything._

_But it couldn’t be a coincidence that he remembered the elderly blonde monarch’s face when he looked at the sea a couple of days ago. Fate…the Rukh was trying to tell him something._

_So King Sinbad wandered around the Palace. Nobody was telling him to scram, so he couldn’t be so unwelcome…_

_And as he turned around a corner, he saw a blonde boy with familiar horn-like bangs that stuck out on his head walking down the hallways._

_Sinbad’s eyes widened. “Hey!” Before he knew it, he’d approached the boy. “Are you a son of King Rashid?”_

_It disturbed Sinbad to see the boy stare back at him emptily, the skin below his eyes dark and lined. “…Yes. You are?” He appeared confused._

_Sinbad gave him a sunny smile, attempting to look trustworthy (and must be utterly failing at it, judging from the boy’s lack of a reaction). “I’m Sinbad, an old mentee of your father. I just heard about his passing. My deepest condolences…”_

_His voice trailed off. Because, all of a sudden, those dull amber irises sparkled._

_“Y-you’re Sinbad? The Sinbad who went on adventures to conquer dungeons?” the boy gasped in awe, his face filling with energy. The older man’s hand was grabbed in slender, calloused fingers. Palms bearing evidence of years of trainings with the sword. “I’m Alibaba! I-I can’t believe I’m meeting you-”_

_Alibaba…the name mentioned in one of Rashid’s last letters. The name of the son he’d been bragging._

_Everything clicked in Sinbad’s mind._

_This was the chance the Rukh had led him to._

_There was no way he wasn’t going to seize it._

* * *

“Please take a seat,” the blonde King gestured as Kouen and Koumei entered the dining room, smiling amiably all the while.

Only several days after they had basically bullied the monarchs of Balbadd to choose war or marriage, an invitation was delivered to the ship the two Imperial Princes of Kou were staying at.

The speed in which matters moved pleased Kouen; he was not one to send passive-aggressive reminders (no, arrows would just find their ways to the Palace roof instead) [4]. And the instance he laid his eyes on King Alibaba’s torso and found the hilt of a _different_ sword tucked to the sash around his waist, Kouen knew the end of the day would favour him.

“Your Excellency,” King Alibaba couldn’t refrain from delivering a sarcastic remark to Koumei, however, “would you prefer to go straight to the point again, or enjoy what we have prepared for you?” He referred to the plates of exquisitely-prepared delicious-looking seafood on the table.

Koumei was inwardly pleased, Kouen could tell. “If you had food previously, I would have been more willing to lend you my time.”

So they spent time eating, and engaging on inane conversations. Kouen was asked for the continuation of his dungeon-capturing stories, although this time the redhead noted the blonde boy’s passionate reactions were muted. It was one of the most enjoyable time Kouen had spent in this Oceanic Kingdom. King Alibaba was a good host, indeed.

“Well, then,” the amber-eyed royalty put down his napkin and put on a somber expression as soon as the maids cleared the last of the cuisine.

Kouen nodded. “Will I get to hear you call me ‘Big Brother’?” He couldn’t help but tease the younger man with a pretty, boyish face.

Kouen didn’t realise he was hoping for a flustered, begrudging assent, until he was disappointed. King Alibaba merely cocked his head, the curve of his lips secretive. “You will,” he said, after a mocking pause clearly meant to keep Kouen waiting, “but I will not be marrying one of your sisters.”

“I want to marry a Prince of Kou instead.”

TBC

Review please!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. The phrase I was about to write was ‘like a freight train’, then I thought, ‘wait, they have no freight trains…’  
> 2\. Please let me know if I went through things too fast and you don’t understand, or the reverse (I’m over explaining and it’s boring). That whole interaction between Ja’far and Sin, the purpose is just to explain what Sinbad is thinking throughout the ‘phone call’ (aka conversation via the Eye of the Rukh) and can be done away with if you feel it’s unnecessary.  
> 3\. Anyone knows the origin of this phrase? When I googled it, some say it’s from Rugby, but they’re not sure. If it’s really from Rugby, I need to change it, may be.  
> 4\. Only after I wrote chapter 3 I began to think if Kou's armada has canons or not. Remembering Reim's war with Magnostadt, gunpowder seems like a new invention, yet Sindria had fireworks during Maharagan (anime ver). What an inconsistency. I guess I need to edit the last chapter as well.


	4. Counter-defense

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't mean to establish any sort of routine, but it seems if I can finish all my work on Saturday, I'll be writing and updating a new chapter on Sunday. So yeah, have something from me on a Sunday again.

“ _Marry a man!?_ ” Alibaba had heard many…innovative (and sometimes downright bizarre, at first) suggestions from Sinbad before, but this…was otherworldly. His face heated up, in indignity or embarrassment, the blonde wasn’t even sure. “ _I don’t have such... such-_ “

“ _Precisely_ ,” the older man quipped. “ _You need a line to separate your private life from the marriage. Why not just make it completely ceremonial? Think of your husband as an ambassador with a fancy title.”_

Alibaba blinked. It sounded dubious...but there was some sense in it. “ _What about an heir?_ ” Alibaba picked on the idea.

“ _Don’t think of the Kou Prince as your husband, he will be **just** an ambassador_ ,” Sinbad repeated. “ _Polygamy is in the heart of Kou's imperial family. And…it is not foreign to your court, judging from the prevalent lifestyle amongst your nobles_ ,” the last statement was spoken tentatively and with a qualifier, the Sindrian sounding a little wary of unintentionally offending the blonde.

Alibaba clenched his fists.

Indeed, if they were both men, his...Consort would have to find means of relieving his... needs as well. Alibaba understood that cheating would be inevitable – a necessity for the Kou Prince, even. Denying him that, like what was expected of a female bride, would not be in anyone’s mind. Alibaba would be expected to appoint a Royal Mistress, a woman who would officially carry his heir ( _and he could do so unburdened by guilt_ ). Less restrictions were placed on who could be concubine(s), so she could be a woman Alibaba loved. And any children born by the Kou Prince could not inherit Alibaba’s throne.

It tied all the loose ends neatly.

All _his_ selfish reservations with the marriage, that was.

Alibaba’s head spun. “ _I-is this even an acceptable practice?”_

“ _It’s rare, but there has been same-sex marriages between royalties. Diplomatic relations take precedence, after all,”_ King Sinbad didn’t sound unsure at all.

Seriously…Alibaba couldn’t believe that Kou would accept it. He’d heard that males – and therefore princes – were more prized in Oriental cultures. “ _…it’s normally as a last resort, right? When the two nations who want to tie the knot don’t have suitable candidates of opposite genders?”_

“ _Indeed,_ ” the long-haired King paused, but his tone…wasn’t that of a man who had given up on an idea. “ _…Alibaba, do you know of Sasan?_ ”

Of course Alibaba did. Alibaba had read Sinbad’s adventures so many times he’d almost had them memorized verbatim. “ _The Kingdom hidden deep in the mountains?”_ What did it got to do with…

“ _Alibaba…to your knowledge, had any previous Saluja Kings married an outsider?_ ”

Alibaba understood the thread of thoughts Sinbad had come to, and couldn’t help but be once again awed by his…his sheer genius. “ _Y-you mean….”_

* * *

_Sahbmad was concerned._

_It had been two days, and…Alibaba hadn’t talked about Kou’s…blackmail (Sahbmad refused to sugarcoat it in his head; it was a threat). The monarch went about his businesses as normally as possible, letting none of his officials – including Adnan, his secretary – notice that anything was amiss, but the former second Prince knew something was gnawing at his younger brother’s mind. Far from relieved, the teen had seemed deeply perturbed after his conversation with the Sindrian King, and…_

_Sahbmad very desperately wanted to be of help._

_As soon as the blonde King dismissed his last appointment of the day, the black-haired royalty slid himself between the door and his ruler. “A-Alibaba!” he steeled his jaws so he wouldn’t stutter. “Please tell me what’s in your mind!”_

_Amber eyes widened at him, before the boy looked down at his table, fingers tapping on the mahogany wood. Eventually, Alibaba smiled at his deputy. “Come, brother,” he gestured at the veranda._

_And proceeded to talk on a snail’s pace, spaces filled with silences._

“ _Marry a man_!?”

_Alibaba chuckled at his reaction like he couldn’t help it. Sahbmad didn’t see what was funny. “I’m sorry, it’s just,” the teen’s amusement was a little hysterical, a little forced, “I had the exact same reaction.”_

_Yet, Sahbmad missed the laughter as soon as it was gone. Alibaba was wearing a face so lined with weariness, a face no sixteen-year-old should have. “You don’t have to do this. The military might of the Seven Seas is not weaker than that of Kou, I’m sure.”_

_Alibaba shifted his gaze from the diamonds in the sky to the lights in the city, twinkling equally brightly through the windows of the homes of their citizens. “…would they really prefer to fight?” he spoke quietly. “My happiness isn’t worth thousands of lives.”_

_Sahbmad frowned. “We can contact Reim,” his mind whirled at a mile a minute. He hated to see Alibaba so…defeated. “With both the Seven Seas and Reim behind us…Kou won’t dare to lay a finger on us!”_

_Alibaba’s expression changed subtly. He looked deep in thought, though he didn’t appear all that optimistic. Sahbmad was just grateful he didn’t set it aside right away._

_“We don’t have a history of strong bilateral ties with Reim. They’ll want something,” the blonde concluded._

_‘Who will be the lesser of two evils?’ the question rang loudly in the Deputy King’s head._

_But…“If we don’t try, we’ll never know, right?” Sahbmad squeezed his younger brother’s hand. “It’s not like you to be nihilistic.”_

_Alibaba closed his eyes and bit his lower lip._

_Nobody said anything for a while, until Sahbmad could feel Alibaba press his hand back. “You’re right, it’s worth a try. However, Kou’s armada is already on our shore. We need to buy ourselves time. I’ll be sure to draw out this marriage debacle,” he stared straight into Sahbmad’s eyes unwaveringly. “I’m leaving this to you, brother.”_

_Hope filled Sahbmad’s chest with warmth. “I won’t let you down, Alibaba!”_

* * *

Kouen refrained from blinking profusely in disbelief. It wouldn’t do to show your opponent that you were stunned (no matter that the blonde knew how outrageous his statement was).

Still. “I didn’t know you swing that way,” was the best retort Kouen could let out of his mouth. Should he have said it with more disdain? A bit of a leer?

“I don’t, really,” the golden King of Balbadd sipped from his goblet while lounging on his high backed chair, tilting his head back. Seated to his right as he was, Kouen was treated to the full view of his neckline. “But our ancestors dictated that only pureblooded Balbaddians can rule over the Kingdom…and I’m sure your sister would hate to see a lowly son of a Mistress inheriting the throne over our future son, wouldn’t she?” Alibaba shot him a bold sideway glance, before turning that stare to Koumei.

Kouen’s eye twitched. The nerve of him…to draw references to himself. That ‘custom’ sounded…really fishy. It would not be in any written texts. And the Saluja dynasty, who had been the ruling family since the dispersed islands came together and assumed the awareness of a nation for better trading cooperation, was indeed, not known for taking foreign princesses into the clan. Political neutrality was in the heart of the Kingdom. [1]

“I know what you’re thinking,” King Alibaba sighed at the silence and shook his head. “I can assure you, my mother, though a harlot, was a true-born Balbaddian. We paid homage to the graves of my grandparents, my great grandparents, and _her_ great grandparents every year. They were fishermen from _before_ , you know.”

Kouen would have flushed if he were any lesser man. That misgiving was…taken straight out of his head. It was jarring, like being caught badmouthing someone on the act.

As the elder brother was recovering, Koumei heaved a dramatic exhale of breath. “I never thought of you a King enslaved by traditions, Your Majesty,” his tone, his face, every part of him was belittling the blonde. He was trying to rile Alibaba. “You should be able to do away with those outdated words of the dead, shouldn’t you?”

The amber-eyed monarch only took it in stride. “While we’re at it, why don’t I turn Balbadd to a Republic too, hmm?” He put down his goblet and smiled challengingly. “Being a young Empire, perhaps Kou does not understand how highly nobles regard those traditions…”

The blonde monarch was conversing as though he feared no retaliation from Kou. Had he and Sinbad decided to go to war against Kou, after all? Did he have an ace up his sleeve?

Speaking of which…why did the ordinarily timorous Deputy King look so assured today? Kouen could tell it wasn’t just a front. What were they hiding?

Amidst the many thoughts swirling in Kouen’s head, he met Koumei’s eyes. They said, ‘retreat, for now!’ and Kouen agreed wholeheartedly.

Before he could make a suggestion to leave, Alibaba touched Kouen’s wrist, causing the larger man to nearly jump out of his skin. “It’s regrettable that you are a Crown Prince… I hope the candidates of my future husband and I can meet and we can assess each other before deciding on a match. I am quite sure…” he removed that smoldering gaze and turned to the younger redhead, “that you would not fancy having me vow my life to you at the altar, Your Excellency. I would not impose on you.”

Koumei narrowed his eyes. “Don’t assume things about me,” he snapped before he could help himself, and blinked when he realized he’d been successfully baited.

Alibaba flashed his guests a wide grin.

“I’m looking forward to get to know you and your brothers better.”

* * *

Koumei twisted his coat and threw it at his bed as soon as they reached their cabin. “That fox!”

He’d always thought himself a laidback guy. This was the first time someone could get under his skin and irritated him so much. Or rather, he was so angry he let himself be goaded to make that remark when he knew he should have kept quiet.

“…That was certainly unexpected,” Kouen’s voice pierced through Koumei’s fuming. The first Prince was seated behind his table as usual, rubbing his beard in thought. “What option should we take now?”

Koumei bit his nails in frustration. Proceeded with an attack? Reim was the wildcard. Insisted on marriage with Kougyoku?

“…is it so bad if we let him marry a Prince of Kou?”

“Of course, it’s bad!” Koumei hadn’t let himself accept the absurd idea; he knew it would slip through the cracks and overrule all his common sense, once he did. “His children won't have a drop of Kou's blood in them! We won’t have any claim on them or be able to indoctrinate them as Kou’s own-”

“In any case, we have no way of stopping him from frolicking with Balbaddian women and producing bastards who may very well one day inherit the throne like he did,” Kouen was staring at his wrist like he was still remembering that touch. “Most of our married sisters still have not given birth to children, and the one who had, her husband is very insistent on raising their son in…what’s that region name…”

“Aomen [2],” Koumei massaged his temples.

“Yeah,” Kouen waved his hand dismissively, “Semantics.”

Koumei sighed, this time for real.

Nobody said anything for a while, until Kouen finally reached out for his scrolls. “So…Kouha?”

Koumei wanted to smack his palm on his face, pat their younger brother, reject and agree to the notion simultaneously. He’d never felt this torn within an instance. “…it won’t be our choice,” the freckled redhead settled with that response. “That boy King did imply he wants to make the decision after meeting all of the ‘candidates’. Demanding brat.”

“I need you to advance to the West,” Kouen acted as though he hadn’t heard his younger brother, “Kouha will have fun terrorizing that blonde.”

Koumei did get to smack his face with his palm, after all.

* * *

Sahbmad’s knees gave way as soon as they saw the maids sending the two Imperial Princes of Kou out of the gates.

“Where did you learn how to do…those?” the twenty-one-year-old blinked at the spot on the dining table where…Alibaba flirted with Prince Kouen (yes, there was really no other way to describe it, either).

Alibaba shrugged and he crossed his legs and slumped on his chair. “My mother…” the words were unexpected, but Sahbmad didn’t interrupt, “she moved...a certain way when she talked to her customers. Made certain gestures I didn’t understand until I watched the hostesses at the clubs. Downcast glances, showing off one's collar bones, a glimpse of the insides of one’s wrist…” he trailed off, before turning fully to the dark-haired royalty with his body twisted at the waist, chin supported casually by his knuckle with his neck upturned, large catlike eyes locked onto him, “they say I look like my mom. I’ve always lamented that, until I overcome my qualms with making use of it...” His amber eyes slid downward. "For Balbadd."

Sahbmad shuddered inwardly. That pose...if Alibaba wasn't his brother, he would have felt...attraction. He knew he would have.

“That aside,” Alibaba dropped the act like a mask, crossing his arms behind his head and leaning so far back the two legs of his chair left the ground, “Since I insist on getting to know all of Kou’s Princes…I’ll have to depart to Rakushou, I think. Sorry,” the teen scratched his head, “I just…don’t want to have to marry someone they order me to. I…want to have a say…”

Sahbmad smiled. _This_ was the Alibaba he knew. “You can leave Balbadd to me,” it scared him to say so, but Alibaba had always made him believe in himself. That was why he’d vowed to be loyal to his brother till the end of his time. “Have a safe trip.”

Unbeknownst to them, the golden rukh left their perch on the windowsill, and headed for the East.

TBC

Review please!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. I learned the ways of a trading nation from my 2nd home country. Singapore has trade treaties with many countries and rarely attacks anyone (other than sending soldiers for UN peacekeeping missions, I think?). The largest Alliance she has is FDPA, which doesn’t require military commitment. Favouritisms can mean trade barriers, so it stands to reason Balbadd would want to be as politically neutral as she can get. I know Balbadd relying on the Seven Seas Alliance but rarely fighting against the Alliance’s attackers (and make herself a target) is not an equal relationship, but let’s say Sinbad owed Rashid much and relies on Balbadd being war-free for trade, considering Sindria’s location is…far off to the south, kinda isolated.  
> 2\. Forgive me, but in terms of location and profile (a trading port about to be assimilated into a larger mainland empire), I find Balbadd similar to Hong Kong…No offense, anyone. Aomen is Macao in Mandarin, btw.
> 
> I've...stared at this chapter upside down and still don't know how to make it...not boring. Please, please tell me how to improve it. As I wrote the story, I also felt 'wait a moment, why is the atmosphere so serious...' 'ah, sharks! How do I change it...'


	5. His Name is Ren Koumei

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I missed Valentine's, but have an update for International Fanworks Day!  
> A little warning: today's update is also very serious.

Alibaba scrutinized the board for another minute before his hand made for one of his pieces.

Koumei glanced at it, and lounged back on his chair in boredom. “Don’t waste your move blocking my elephant’s eye,” he smirked. “If I were you, I’d be more worried about the horse that is heading to your palace…or the chariot aiming for your archer [1].”

The blonde king squeezed his eyes shut. That meant there were three possible ways Koumei could pronounce a ‘check’ on his general within the next two moves. Sacrificing his one remaining advisor wouldn’t turn the game around. It was well and truly over.

Kouen took one look at the board between them and chuckled as he settled behind his table nearby. “Don’t be too disheartened,” the older redhead commented as he opened a scroll, “very few people in our court can beat Koumei at _Xiangqi_ [1], let alone you, after less than a month of learning it.”

Alibaba sighed, “Still, it’s similar to chess.” He moved his horse away from his general, giving Koumei his quickest path to victory, and rose to his feet. He rummaged for something in his sling bag and procured the documents Kouen had lent him. “Thank you,” the sunny teen smiled as he placed it carefully on the First Imperial Prince’s table. “It’s been an enjoyable and an eye-opening read on Aktia Kingdom.”

Kouen replied with a small nod. “So what have you learned?”

Alibaba shot him a secretive smile. “ _That_ would be telling,” he rested his palm next to the scroll he’d returned and leaned forward, “but I’ll share with you my opinions on their trade policies. The price floor on agricultural produce was not the smartest move. The surplus grains were going to go bad.”

So the two of them launched into another discussion and lost track of time.

“The traders had suffered enough losses. Without the price floor, they would have flocked to Balbadd,” Kouen was not convinced.

“The competitiveness of the farmers would be hurt in the long run,” Alibaba countered heatedly.

“Demand for agricultural produce is largely domestic, and Aktia’s population is stable. They need to buy agricultural produce, regardless,” Kouen raised his voice. He looked very serious, yet Koumei could tell his older brother was enjoying it. Kouen loved having intelligent debates. The second Imperial Prince himself enjoyed having a new _Xiangqi_ partner. He’d known Kouen’s thought patterns inside-out, Kouha felt the game too complicated and Koumei didn’t trust his Ministers, sometimes.

The one month on a voyage to Kou with the Balbaddian monarch had been very pleasant, indeed. Judging from the passion Alibaba was exhibiting, and the enthusiasm he couldn’t hide from his eyes, he’d loved it too.

( _“If you want to be able to choose your husband, and meet them before you do so, you have to go to Rakushou,” Kouen challenged, daring Alibaba to change his mind. “We aren’t going to bring our brother Kouha here, and put all the eggs in the same basket.”_

_The blonde, however, didn’t seem like he was at all opposed to the idea. “Fair enough.”_

_Kouen and Koumei, who’d been gearing for a fight, pushed down their surprise. “You’ll come with us?” Koumei sought for confirmation._

_Alibaba blinked, but not for the reason Koumei had predicted. “You’ll be going back to Rakushou as well, Your Excellency?” he directed the question to Kouen. “Brother Sahbmad is staying here.”_

_It had never occurred to either Koumei or Kouen to separate and have one of them watch over Balbadd. Kouen cleared his throat. “My household will remain here. They have my instructions.” He left it at that._

_Koumei could see the mystery ticking the amber-eyed boy for a moment, but it passed in a blink of an eye. “Let’s settle the details of the trip.”)_

In the end, they decided to travel in a single vessel, with no accompanying fleets of warships. It would be foolhardy to try to drown each other if there was only one boat, after all, and there were enough skilled warriors on deck who could disarm pirates if they were attacked.

Regardless, Koumei couldn’t help but be grateful for the turn of events. They’d be well-suited, Kou and Alibaba.

“How could you say that when agricultural imports aren’t a thing of the past? Prices can seldom be dropped after they’re raised. Such is the nature. They need something more flexible,” Alibaba’s rebuttal brought the freckled redhead out of his musings.

“Like what?” Kouen shrugged, surreptitiously waiting for the blonde economist’s creative ideas. Koumei knew he had a knack for them.

They would never know, it seemed. “Your Majesty,” Balbaddian Vice-General Tawfiq clasped his hands and bowed, “Your Excellency, we’re arriving in Aomen.”

Kouen very nearly twitched, Koumei could tell. As it was, Entei only turned to his attendant. “Send an eagle to Henrique and Koutsuki,” he ordered. [2]

Alibaba couldn’t stop himself from rushing to the deck, excited to see the scenery of Aomen. What he’d read from old texts suggested the former oceanic kingdom located at the westernmost coastal line of Kou a melting pot of races, from early Reim and Parthevian traders to descendants of Kouga. The interracial marriages brought about rich culture and architectures rarely seen at other places, a blend of East and West.

Yet, what greeted Alibaba’s eyes were rows and rows of identical three-storey buildings, with brick red curved roofs and round windows with wooden meshing. Nestled amongst lush green hills were a couple of tall towers Alibaba would later learn were called pagodas, but there was _no trace_ of the diversity Alibaba had read, nothing of the large cylindrical columns of Reim which reached for the skies, no antique shop houses along the beach. [3]

The people moving across the streets looked as tiny as ants, dots of brown, green and white. There were the occasional bursts of colours, _rarely_ so.

As Alibaba was questioning himself on whether he’d read the correct accounts of Aomen, the blonde noticed he wasn’t alone.

“They’ll take another day or two to ready the horse carriages and move our cargo,” Kouen informed him. “In the meanwhile, would you like to take a rest, or look around the city?”

Alibaba stared at the taller man’s profile, the manner he casually regarded the scenery like it was an ordinary one. “I’d like to look around,” he answered, his voice fainter than usual.

There was an unsettling feeling at the pit of his stomach.

* * *

“Welcome to Aomen, Your Majesty, King Alibaba of Balbadd,” a man greeted them at the lobby of the Palace, his skin a healthy shade of olive and his dark hair gleaming burnt sienna in the sunlight. He bowed to the Kou princes. “Your Excellency, General Commandeer Kouen and General Koumei.”

The two redheads nodded at him. “Alibaba, let me introduce you to Henrique Ren,” Kouen pulled the blonde monarch closer, “My brother-in-law and Governor of Aomen Special Administrative Region.”

Alibaba couldn’t help but study the charming older man, dressed in white knee-length tunics, purple sash slanting across his torso and dark boots that covered his calves. This might be who Alibaba would be, in the future.

“Pleased to meet you,” Henrique smiled amiably.

“I’m sorry,” they were joined by a group of female courtiers in the same shade of purple, only their robes were completely styled in Kou’s fashion. The woman who led the assembly was tall and slender, her dark burgundy hair tied to a high chignon on the centre of her head, various bejeweled hairpins fastened around it, so many Alibaba wondered how she could uphold her chin up high. The seams of her robes were embroidered in gold threads. “I am Ren Koutsuki. Please accept my belated welcome, Your Majesty,” she curtsied, her words respectful but empty.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Alibaba could only reply.

Her reception toward her brothers was definitely warmer. “Brother Kouen, brother Koumei,” her rouged lips curled to a smile. “It’s been a while since you passed by …but earlier than I’d expected.”

She was talking about me, Alibaba thought, and refrained from showing any outward reaction.

“It’s for the better,” Kouen remarked, and Alibaba nearly blinked. He…surprised himself by how light those words made him feel.

Princess Koutsuki gave her brother an odd stare, before she turned and brought a tiny boy from behind her skirt to Alibaba. “This is my son, Ren Kouko [4].”

The toddler had his mother’s hair and skin, but his eyes and facial bone structures were his father’s. He would grow up to be as handsome as him. The Prince’s clothes, however…were a clash of two cultures: Kou’s robes with partings on the chest, covered by tunics similar to his father’s clothes. The boy was also wearing earrings and shoes that, from Alibaba’s observations of Kouen and Koumei, were not what people of Kou would typically wear.

Alibaba’s musings were interrupted by a shy greeting. “…hi,” the boy peered up with large hazel eyes, and the teen could feel his heart melting to a mush.

“Hi, Prince Kouko,” Alibaba squatted and grinned at the toddler, petting his hair. “Nice to meet you!”

The boy was almost too quickly pulled away by his mother, however. Princess Koutsuki looked a little queasy as she announced, “It’s time for your studies.”

“You’ll be busy catching up with General Commandeer Kouen, won’t you?” Prince Kouko’s small hand was slowly retrieved by Governor Henrique. “Leave him with Nanny Maria.”

Princess Koutsuki’s eyes flashed. “But-”

“That will be best,” the Governor asserted.

As the married couple entered into a staring contest, Alibaba couldn’t help but…feel sorry for Kouko. The boy would grow up with his parents fighting over how to influence him, to manipulate him, even.

Alibaba was glad he could bypass this altogether.

“Your Majesty,” the Governor addressed him, the smile on his face larger for having won the small battle, his son safely tucked to his side. “I heard from General Commandeer Kouen that you would like to tour the city? My…the slaves will lead you to your room, if you’d like to freshen up.”

Alibaba blinked. _Slaves? There are slaves in Aomen?_

As they talked, Koumei walked straight into the Palace like it was his. “I’ll be taking a nap,” he said as he waved without turning back to them, “I’ll join you when you visit the casino this evening, Alibaba.”

“Ah, yes,” Alibaba replied hurriedly, and caught a glimpse of the face Governor Henrique was showing to Prince Koumei’s back. The hair at the back of his neck stood.

His hazel eyes…were consumed by hatred.

* * *

“And that’s the bakery,” Governor Henrique pointed out from the window of the carriage, “almond cakes and egg tarts are a specialty of ours. You should try.”

Alibaba smiled. He loved delicious desserts. “Then I will. Could we please drop by…?”

“Certainly!”

The brunet had kindly offered to guide Alibaba while Kouen was occupied with his sister. The Governor was a well-loved figure; almost every citizen they passed by smiled at him. Alibaba could feel his love for Aomen as well, his pride for his hometown spilling out of every sentence that left his mouth, yet there was always something…wistful in his eyes. A longing for something that had been lost.

“Sir Henrique,” Alibaba engaged his host in a small talk as they were sampling cookies from trays held by women in brown robes, who Alibaba had learned were slaves. The cashier was wearing green, meaning he was an ordinary citizen. “I saw the painting in the guest room assigned to me.” It was a beautiful scenery, a mansion styled with large arcs, each pillar intricately carved and ending in tall, tapered cones, surrounded by a row of cottages and at the far left, there seemed to be a religious house whose walls were covered by a mosaic of brightly coloured tiles [5]. Everything was so pretty. “It’s so lovely! Is it somewhere you’ve been to for a vacation?”

The sadness that was only slightly present on his face suddenly overwhelmed his whole being, like the emotion had been weaved into a cloak that completely surrounded him. Alibaba was shocked by the transformation.

“Your Majesty,” the Governor take a quick look around before snatching him out of the bakery to an obscure alleyway so quickly his bodyguard Tawfiq - who'd been more of Alibaba's shadow since they docked - missed it. “ _That…_ was Aomen,” Henrique spoke through gritted teeth.

Alibaba took a sharp breath. It feel like a hole had opened up on the ground beneath him, and he was falling through the looking glass, to a bottomless abyss.

He’d had his suspicions, but…

“That stretch of land where the casino used to be…they tore it all down, and replaced the church, the mansion, the centuries-old heritage, with that...that source of _moral corruption!”_ The hazel-eyed man hissed, his tone dripping with anger and resentment, so venomous it could kill if materialized. “The irrational slave system they’ve imposed on us, the menial jobs Aomen citizens can only accept to do, the history they ban from telling children…They took everything!” Tears filled the older man’s eyes.

“I…” Alibaba opened his mouth…only to close it again. He didn’t know what to say.

“…never mind,” devoid of all his masks, Governor Henrique appeared despondent. “I heard you’d proposed to marry a Prince of Kou, instead of a Princess,”

Alibaba’s eyes widened. “News travel fast.”

The older man chuckled, a hollow sound. “It’s a smart move. I wish I thought of it before,” he sighed and brought his hands to his face, rubbing his temples. “Poor Kouko.”

The blonde monarch clenched his fists. “…would you have fought?” He knew his question was dangerous, and he hadn’t earned the Governor’s trust, but-

“…no,” the chocked word sounded like a sob. Sir Henrique looked like a tortured man with his eyes squeezed shut, and Alibaba was regretful that he'd been the one to cause it. Large fingers wrapped around the blonde’s forearm. “You’re the ruler of a small trading nation like I…was. You think I could have won against Kou’s might?”

A stab of guilt pierced Alibaba as he thought of Sinbad. “W…what if you have someone who would back you up?”

Hazel eyes searched him. “…you mean the Seven Seas Alliance.”

Alibaba flinched. Was he that transparent?

A comforting hand landed on his shoulder. “You look kind…and I know you’re thinking of your citizens,” his soothing expression suddenly hardened. “Whatever you choose to do… ** _don’t_** marry Ren Koumei.”

Alibaba was puzzled. “Why?”

He was interrupted by a man whom…Alibaba vaguely remembered was their carriage driver. The green-robed citizen flicked his head in the direction of the main street.

Alibaba’s heart almost stopped when he and Governor Henrique returned to the main street to find Ren Kouen waiting for them in the carriage.

The redhead looked up casually from his readings. “Bought a lot of pastries?”

Alibaba almost couldn’t answer, but he was saved by Henrique’s cheery reply. “Yes! The egg tarts were freshly baked, straight out of the oven!” The brunet opened the package and let the fragrance fill the carriage. “Would you have some?”

Kouen only scrunched his nose at the food. “No, thanks.”

Alibaba belatedly remembered that the first Imperial Prince disliked sweets. _Did he know?_ The blonde couldn’t help but wonder as he peered at the Governor. A lot of little things he did, like how he dressed, were acts of rebellion, skirting on what he could get away with.

“Well then, now that you’re here, Lord Entei, I will take my leave,” Governor Henrique bowed, and flagged a passing rickshaw.

“Where have you been?” Kouen put away his reports as soon as Alibaba and Tawfiq climbed into the carriage and sat opposite to the redhead. “Anywhere else you’d like to go to before we reach the casino?”

Kouen was…hospitable, if a man of little words. He brought Alibaba to where the best spicy foods were, and explored a pagoda with him. As they were on a boat crossing the channel to the casino, Alibaba mustered his courage.

“Aomen…has been changed a lot, hasn’t she?”

Kouen turned his face away from the sea breeze he was savouring. “Oh?”

Alibaba gulped. “I…read accounts of what Aomen used to be, written by a Balbaddian scholar, about a decade ago.”

Kouen raised an eyebrow, as if to say, ‘So?’

Alibaba bit his lower lip…and threw all his reservations out to the sea. “Why did you have to strip away everything that made Aomen, Aomen? Her culture, her religion, her social structure! And the slavery-”

Without him noticing it, Alibaba had rose to his feet, causing the boat to rock. “Sir!” the oarsperson – another slave – exclaimed in alarm, “please remain in your seat.”

“Sorry,” Alibaba bit out, and barely after he folded his legs, Kouen sighed. “You’re talking to the wrong person.”

Alibaba frowned. “What?”

“Ask Koumei,” Kouen then turned his face away from the blonde, signaling that the conversation was over.

They proceeded in silence until they were shown to the second floor of the decadently decorated casino, where they could lean over the marble balustrade and see the whole floor where people were betting their money, liquor and scantily clad women flitting about between men’s arms. The sounds of Mahjong tiles knocking against each other and the crisp sound of cards sliding across tables filled the air.

Koumei was already seated at a table placed next to the balustrade, sipping a cup of wine and watching the chaos below with interest.

He smiled at Alibaba when he and Kouen approached the freckled redhead, his cheeks pink. He appeared a little tipsy.

“Hey,” Koumei greeted and looked back down at the gambling floor straight away, missing Alibaba’s troubled expression fixated on him. “Want to play a game of Doki-Doki?” [6]

Alibaba threw his gaze. “…I don’t gamble.” Kassim’s father did…and he’d rather not…

Koumei finally caught on Alibaba’s mood. He shared a look with Kouen, before snapping his fingers at a servant nearby. “Secure us a private place,” he commanded.

“Your Excellency,” the thin, bald man bowed deeply.

Alibaba and Koumei were led down a wide hallway, where the floor was covered by exquisite velvet rugs and crystal chandeliers hung above them. If one didn’t know any better, he’d think he was in a castle.

“So,” Koumei said as soon as they were settled in a quiet alcove at the corner. “Kouen told me that you have something to ask me.”

Alibaba looked straight into the second Imperial Prince’s eyes. “What I read about Aomen are different from what she is now,” the statement was almost growled, so laden with pent up emotions it was.

“Hmm, yes,” Koumei tilted his head and smiled, observing the blonde monarch like he was an _amusing_ specimen _._ “Tell me, Your Majesty, do you think people are naturally inclined to conflict with each other, or do you think it is more natural that they understand each other and coexist?”

“Hah?” Alibaba didn’t get how philosophy was related to Kou’s treatment of Aomen.

“As humans increase in numbers, they create communities centred on differed ideologies…” the more Koumei talked, the more Alibaba couldn’t believe that such a human…who could develop such thoughts exist. Such revolting, absurd idea of erasing from history the fact that different ideologies existed, and imposing Kou’s system on thousands, millions of people- [7]

“Nobody would believe such a lie!” Alibaba shouted, each breath he drew heavy. He wanted to retch.

“If you repeat a lie countless times, it becomes reality,” Koumei was all too calm as he replied the blonde. “Remove memories and historical records of the people, and with the passage of time, we can remove the contradictions that had brought us war and the irrational slave system.” His voice finally trembled after he mentioned the slave system, however. Alibaba latched on that observation. “We have to consider not just the temporary happiness of a single country like Aomen, but a more long-term happiness for the entire world!”

Alibaba narrowed his eyes. He wouldn’t allow Balbadd experience such a future. “But you hate the slave system, don’t you? Why do you enforce them on people who are dear to you?”

“Why don’t you convey your real feelings to the people of your country, who are living right now, instead of waiting for the future!?”

* * *

Koumei didn’t let himself reveal how…surprised he was by that argument.

He just sat there, speechless, as Alibaba glared at him with his whole being, his golden eyes twin pools of fire. There was so much revulsion in his gaze, so much animosity. He was so furious his slender frame was shaking. Koumei could imagine himself hearing those molars grinding against each other.

A-ah, now it would be impossible for the blonde to choose to marry him, wouldn’t it?

Koumei supposed it would be _fun_ , pulling strings to make the marriage between him and Alibaba happen. He would enjoy arguing with the blonde to make him see sense. Or at the very least, he would enjoy tormenting him. Really, the blonde was showing him so much weakness, so many ways on how to hurt him.

Alas, Kouen needed him to advance toward Magnostadt and Reim, and it wasn’t logical to marry Alibaba to a Kou prince who wouldn’t be able to reside in Balbadd and watch over her.

What a pity.

Someone knocked the screen separating them from the hallway, and Kouen slipped through. “Have you finished talking?”

Alibaba’s glare intensified. “Koumei hasn’t-”

“Yes,” the freckled redhead interrupted and stood up. “Now, let me play a round of poker before exhaustion claims me.”

And the two Imperial Princes of Kou walked away, leaving Alibaba behind with a conclusion.

 _‘Whatever you choose to do…don’t marry Ren Koumei,’_ indeed.

TBC

Review please!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiangqi. The original game’s ‘cannon’ was substituted by ‘archer’ as I’m not sure if gunpowder existed before the battle between Reim and Magnostadt.  
> 2\. Henrique from Henrique de Senna Fernandes, and Koutsuki means ‘red moon’.  
> 3\. The scenery is taken straight out of: http://mangafox.me/manga/magi_labyrinth_of_magic/v21/c206/3.html  
> 4\. Kouko: 紅誇, meaning: red pride.  
> 5\. http://www.touristmaker.com/images/portugal/portuguese-architecture.jpg, and http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/107333682.jpg  
> 6\. http://hayarashi.tumblr.com/post/98640022795/magi-card-game-one-shot  
> 7\. Please go to manga chapter 208 and 209 for the complete conversation between Koumei and Alibaba. I’m not going to regurgitate the whole thing here. Besides, the Alibaba here hasn’t experienced the pain of losing Kassim, so he didn’t understand beyond theory and an instinct.
> 
> Sorry, I couldn't manage to start writing about Kouha here. Kouha will definitely be in the next chapter. Hakuryuu...will either be in the next chapter or chapter 7.


	6. Almost Perfect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hakuryuu FINALLY makes an appearance.

It took another two weeks of carriage rides from Aomen to reach Rakushou.

Alibaba continued trying (and failing) to beat Koumei at _Xiangqi_ , and holding rhetorical debates with Kouen till the candle wicks were burned out, but Koumei could see that something had… _changed_.

There was a distance between them, now. Alibaba never quite let himself go the way he did during the voyage. They weren’t strangers as they were in Balbadd…but Alibaba couldn’t look at Koumei in the eyes for long anymore.

( _Maybe the blonde knew he wouldn’t be able to keep his resentment off his face if he did._ )

 Well…Koumei didn’t mind the wake-up call. He’d enjoyed the good dream while it lasted.

* * *

Kou’s Palace…was a city in her own right. Isolated from the rest of Rakushou by a moat and four walls that went on for miles, she looked…a little like prison.

The travelers passed through a majestic metal entrance, with a watch house built atop a brick red U-shaped building, looming over the carriages and blocking the sunlight. Alibaba felt a little intimidated. [1]

They crossed a vast square near a four-storey staircase leading to a Great Hall, before disappearing into roads walled up on both sides like a maze Alibaba couldn’t keep track of. All the while, the guards of every little gate they went through announced, “Imperial Princes Kouen and Koumei have returned!” each starting before the last was over, the sound bouncing off the concrete and making a huge racket. Alibaba couldn’t see how any inhabitants of this…place could ever be not aware of the comings and goings of any member of the Imperial family.

They finally stopped at a complex of cottages that looked like someone’s living quarters, the front yard dotted with blood red peonies and spider lilies.

As Alibaba stepped out, he was greeted by an assembly of…the most mismatched gang he’d ever seen: three women with dainty features, full red lips and slanted eyes, body parts wrapped up in bandages with scribbles on them and swordsmen with gazes too wild to be a common army.

Standing ahead of that bunch of eccentrics was a petite, lithe man, who was too _beautiful_ to be true. The most attractive androgyny Alibaba had laid his eyes on, with long-lashed large eyes and defined v-shaped jaws like an exquisite doll, the skin of his chest, sides, hipbones and knees from the _extremely revealing_ slits up his blouse and bubble shorts looking irresistibly smooth.

The doll smiled at Alibaba, lips quirked slightly to the left in a charming smirk. “Welcome, Your Majesty King Alibaba of Balbadd. I am Ren Kouha, the third Imperial Prince of Kou.”

“Uh,” Alibaba was tongue-tied. “Thanks.”

Behind him, Kouen and Koume shared a knowing look.

Fortunately, Kouha took his eyes off Alibaba, removing him from the spotlight. Kouha beamed when he caught the sight of his half-brothers. “En-nii, brother Mei, long time no see!” That expression made him more like a real person, and could positively break hearts. “I’ve been training the army in your absence!” Kouha seemed so eager to impress.

“Thanks for your hard work,” Kouen approached the youngest redhead with a fond smile and patted him on his head, above the blue hat with the golden wings. “Could you please be a good host for our guest?” The stare he spared Alibaba seemed to convey a… _message_ the blonde monarch wasn’t comfortable with.

Kouha’s face turned somber. “Certainly,” the word sounded so loaded.

“Thank you for your company throughout the journey!” Alibaba told the retreating backs of Koumei and Kouen.

He was only replied with a nod.

“Your Majesty,” Kouha began when Alibaba watched the disappearing figures of his travel mates. “Jinjin and I will guide you and your bodyguards to your rooms.” One of the three women, the short one with pigtails and her torso bandaged, curtsied. Alibaba smiled at her to acknowledge her. “His Majesty, my father the Emperor sent an invitation to join the family for the Moon Festival in a week [2]. In the meanwhile, is there anything you’d like to do after you’ve freshened up?” Kouha continued talking as they started walking.

Join the family…so they’d set him a deadline, eh. Alibaba had better checked with Sabhmad on the correspondences with Reim, later…now, he had a mission to fulfil.

“The scenery of Kou’s hills are much lovelier than the deserts and savannahs where I came from,” Alibaba squinted as he appreciated the clear sky overhead. “Would you take me horse riding?”

Kouha blinked. Alibaba might even have seen his eye twitch.

The female courtier looked vexed, like she couldn’t believe Alibaba’s request. “But all the wind will make Lord Kouha’s hair dry-”

“Jinjin,” Kouha interrupted with a raised hand. The smile the pretty boy presented Alibaba was unnaturally wide. “But aren’t you tired, Your Majesty?”

“Please call me Alibaba,” the blonde said automatically, and shook his head, “on the contrary, sitting in a carriage for weeks had made me so stiff. I’m aching for some activities.”

“I see,” Kouha’s smile didn’t budge. “Well, Jinjin, please tell the stable boy to prep the horses. I will drop by your room at four. The sun won’t be so strong anymore. Then we can also have a picnic up there. Is that okay, Alibaba-san?”

“Sure!” Their conversation ended as they reached their destination. “See you, then!”

Alibaba didn’t understand why Jinjin was still glaring at him as he closed the door.

* * *

“Oh, that felt good!” Alibaba moaned as he felt the wind blowing his bangs away from his face.

The blonde had never cared much for horse riding; it was one of those things one couldn’t really get used to if he didn’t start young, but the air was cooler in Kou (as opposed to the hot, dry desert winds), and the view was really breathtaking, with the sun setting in the horizon painting the sky in a gradient of lavender. The mountains were patches of green, bright red and russet, bathed in golden hues along with the river, Oriental bridges and pavilions. And it was heavenly to have worked out a sweat and put his muscles to use.

“I think I envy you for having had these all your life, Your Highness!” Alibaba hollered as he turned around with a grin.

Kouha only smiled rigidly at the blonde. He was holding the bridle awkwardly, like he was bothered by his horse, and he’d covered his arms in a long-sleeved cloak and wrapped his head in cloth. “I’m glad you love it, Your Majesty.”

Alibaba cocked his head. “Race you to the tree over there?”

“I’d rather not,” Kouha was quick to answer. “We should start on the picnic if we want to get back before nightfall.”

 _He’s not enjoying himself_ , Alibaba observed and he was…surprised. Wasn’t Kouha a General in Kouen’s army? Shouldn’t a General have been more used to marching on a horse’s back for weeks on end?

The meat buns and finger foods were a treat, however. Kouha was a pleasant company, if a little subdued. He’d been so kind to let his entourage eat and relish the scenery with them as well. Alibaba was so reluctant to trot downhill, back to the cooped up maze. It was well and truly dark when they arrived at the stables.

A female courtier with bandages around her head offered her help to Alibaba before Tawfiq could lend him a hand, “Your Majesty.”

“Thank you. Junjun, isn’t it?” the blonde took it without a second thought. “Is it painful?”

She was startled. “I beg your pardon?”

Alibaba gestured at his face. “Do you have a wound…?”

“Oh, no, I,” she was flustered. For a moment, Alibaba was sorry to have brought it up. “It’s just unsightly,” she ended in a bitter tone.

“Oh,” Alibaba didn’t like how she sounded. “Surely, it can’t be that bad,” he tried to console her.

“…I’m an artificial witch, a failed experiment,” she went on even more spitefully. “What’s on my face…is so inhumane you’ll be glad I cover it up if you know how it looks like.”

Alibaba inhaled sharply. Experimentation on humans…seriously, how atrocious could Kou get?

“…But Lord Kouha doesn’t care about all those,” Junjun blushed as she turned her head in the direction of her master. “He’s so kind to have accepted all of us…Jinjin, Reirei, and any warrior regardless of his background.” Her voice took on a reverent, almost obsessive tone. “Ah, I wish he’d hit me more…”

The last comment made Alibaba frown in confusion, but the rest of it was an enlightenment.

“I see,” the blonde, too, fixed his stare in Junjun’s line of sight.

_Could he be the one?_

They separated for the day and saw each other again the next day for breakfast.

“Would you like a game of _Xiangqi_?” Alibaba suggested when Kouha asked him what he would like to do today.

The slim redhead with fine braids on his fringe pursed his lips to a thin line.

Kouha was…so transparent, compared to Kouen and Koumei, who always donned a poker face. It was…very refreshing. Alibaba hurried to raise a different suggestion. “Or perhaps we can visit the library? You can introduce me to your favourite texts-”

“Alibaba,” the blonde was interrupted. “If you suggested _Xiangqi_ to make me feel at ease, well, you shouldn’t have, because I don’t care much for the game.”

Alibaba blinked. Very frank, indeed. “I see.”

“And I don’t care much for reading, either,” Kouha said as he leaned back on his chair and crossed his slender legs. “I don’t mind bringing you to the library, but…you can’t treat me like you’ve treated En-nii and brother Mei. You are spending time with me because we are supposed to assess our compatibility for marriage, aren’t we? Treat me as my own person.”

“I’m sorry,” Alibaba was embarrassed. The injustice of his behaviour had slipped his notice. Kouha was…wiser than he appeared to be. “Well, what are you interested in, then?” He started over with an open-ended question.

Somehow, the grin on Kouha’s face didn’t make Alibaba feel any better.

* * *

“Your Highness, welcome, welcome!”

“Do you have anything new?” Kouha inquired in delight.

Alibaba was…beat. This must be the sixth seamstress they had visited, and the third Imperial Prince of Kou hadn’t lost his steam. He was still perusing through fabrics and accessories with a twinkle in his eyes. Alibaba wasn’t the one who had to stand while others took his measurements; why was he the one who felt tired?

“Ah,” Kouha exclaimed victoriously, “this suits you well, Reirei!” he placed a Chrysanthemum-shaped pin on the head of his curly-haired courtier.

“R-really?” The woman’s cheeks were tinged pink. “I-I don’t need gifts, mi-milord! I’m happiest if you would just tie me up, and whip me till I can’t sit without thinking of the marks you’ve left me-” she flung herself at the beautiful royalty’s feet and hung around his neck with her bandaged arms.

Alibaba’s eyes widened. _What have I heard? Does he really have that kind of relationship with them?_

“Reirei,” Kouha untangled himself skillfully, “have some discretion for His Majesty, please.” He winked at Alibaba.

“Ooh,” the woman cleared her throat and bowed to the blonde king. “I’m sorry.”

Suddenly, Alibaba felt queasy. “Uh…yes, discretion will be great.”

They moved on to another seamstress, where they stumbled upon someone Kouha knew. “Ah, Your Highness!” A young brunette in a luxurious gown lit up as she laid her eyes, which had been painted with red shading and black lines that made them look longer, on the prince. “Why have you stopped inviting me? I have been waiting for your letters,” she reached for his hand, caressing his forearm with her finger pads. “My husband is away…” she pulled him close and whispered to his ear, the rest of her sentence inaudible, but Alibaba – and Tawfiq too, judging from the disapproving frown the normally impassive man had between his brows – could guess what it pertained to.

Good grief, Kouha really got around, didn’t he?

The funny thing was, Alibaba could see him getting along well with his nobility’s wives, entertaining them with conversations of fashion and compliments he was so well-versed at giving. And, as Sinbad had mentioned, Alibaba and his husband weren’t lovers, per se.

Yet, why hadn’t Alibaba’s heart accepted the idea?

The Balbaddian endured the brunette giggling over Kouha’s sweet talking and her pawing at the beautiful player before they left the shop. Thankfully, Kouha hadn’t given his lady friend a date to come over.

“She’s pretty,” Alibaba remarked, trying for an offhand tone but not sure if he had pulled it off.

“She is,” Kouha shrugged, answering the blonde, to the latter’s surprise. “But I don’t think I’ll keep seeing her. We’ll see.”

“Oh?” Alibaba turned to stare at his companion. Did Kouha say this because he hoped the marriage between them to happen? Considering his straightforward personality (which Alibaba had had _plenty_ of chances to observe), it didn’t seem likely. “Why not?”

“She used to be so bold,” Kouha sighed, the huff of breath a little dreamy, yet also filled with disappointment. “In the way she dressed, the way she did things because she wanted to…now she’s more likely to follow her husband and mother-in-law. She’s…turning bleak. Losing her individuality.”

 _Treat me as my own person_ , Alibaba recalled what he was told, this morning. So individuality was important to Kouha. That was why he had decided to shelter the…miscasts.

This gave the blonde hope.

“Oh!” As they passed through the market, Kouha stopped at a particular stall. “That blade looks really well-made,” he commented.

 _Finally, an interest congruent to that of a military man_. Alibaba looked over, and picked up the weapon the prince was pointing at. “Hmm,” he swished it around to try it out. Alibaba didn’t like to brag, but…he’d say he was quite knowledgeable on short swords. “It’s…a little too heavy.”

“Is it?” Kouha grasped Alibaba’s wrist and slid the knife out of his palm. The blonde's pulse quickened at the proximity of the prince’s body heat. “Look,” Kouha retrieved a handkerchief from his pocket, and sliced it. The silk was slashed cleanly, the fine strands still weaved in around the cut. “The precision.”

Alibaba had to admit the redhead was right. Still… “The weight matters a lot in combat, doesn’t it?”

“I’m sure,” Kouha stated absently as he was browsing for other goods, his eyes zooming in the sharpening stones. “Hmm…I think Kanmeisei needs them… Excuse me, I want them as well,” the royalty handed the seller money without asking for the prices of the blade or the stones, and refused the change. “By the way, Alibaba, combat’s not what I need it for.”

Alibaba blinked. _What do you need it for, then?_

They were out on the streets until it was time for dinner. One would think someone like Kouha would be disheartened to have to live in a place so boxed in like Kou’s palace, but Alibaba couldn’t discern any loss of spirit in the redhead when he stepped into his living quarters. Was he just too used to it?

_The moment I thought I’ve got you, something else came up to contradict me._

Alibaba wanted to pull his hair in frustration.

“I’d like to take a bath before dinner,” Kouha declared.

“I’d like to wash up as well,” Alibaba agreed. “Meet you at the dining room in half an hour?”

Alibaba was there on time (the habit was rather drilled into him during his first two years of princedom), but Kouha wasn’t. So he waited. And waited.

Alibaba got up to explore when he got too restless to sit a moment longer. He wasn’t that hungry (Kouha bought lots of snacks in the market, luckily, for Alibaba and his underlings) so it wasn’t that he wanted to eat badly, but…

As he wandered unsupervised (there didn’t seem to be many servants on standby at Kouha’s place. How…odd), peeking inside the rooms through the windows as he passed by just so he knew what they were, he came across a windowless room at a secluded corner. At first, he dissed it as the second door to the study, but it didn’t seem to be this deep…

In his curiosity, he pushed the door in, and unexpectedly, it yielded.

The interior…was a twilight zone: rows and rows of shelves containing _baffling_ items like whips, knives, paddles, handcuffs and candles on two sides, chains and hoops hanging from the ceiling, a cross-shaped wooden platform mounted against the wall, poles and iron bars… It was like Alibaba just walked into an underground torture chamber. Only instead of smelling moldy and unhygienic, there was a trace of…a sweet, floral fragrance in the air.

“Snooping isn’t honourable, Your Majesty.”

“What the-” Alibaba couldn’t help but scream. He swore his heart had jumped out of his ribcage. The blonde was patting his chest and taking big gulps of air as he turned around.

Kouha was leaning on the entryway, his damp hair lying limply on his shoulders, wetting his beige blouse and rendering the cloth transparent. He was peering at Alibaba judgmentally.

“The door wasn’t locked,” as soon as the excuse left his mouth, the Balbaddian felt ashamed. “But you’re right, I shouldn’t have,” he threw his gaze to the ground.

“And I didn’t lock the door on purpose,” Kouha’s admission made Alibaba snap back.

Their eyes met, and couldn’t seem to leave each other as the pretty redhead walked nearer to Alibaba. Kouha’s stare…was so full of meaning and evaluation, all at once.

“Does it bother you?” the scandalous third Imperial Prince of Kou asked when they were within arm’s length. “My interest?” he nudged his chin at the chamber at large without breaking their eye connection. “That I like to see blood and inflict pain on others?” He whispered heatedly. “…You’ve been a bad boy to go through my things without permission. I ought to punish you,” his voice caressed the blonde like velvet.

“I…” As Alibaba thought about his answer, _really_ thought about his answer, going through various psychological states like _arousal_ (he’d never felt that to any man!), disgust at himself, then calm rationality, the magic was lost. The blonde looked around again, at the smooth surface of the wooden cross, the shiny black whips. Someone had taken great pains to ensure that each…tool was well-maintained. “…have a hunch. I mean, your courtiers haven’t been discreet with their wishes to be hit by you.”

“No, they haven’t,” Kouha clucked his tongue and repeated inanely, shooting Alibaba an impatient look.

“And I’ve seen that you _care_ for your subordinates. They’re always in your mind,” Alibaba was stalling. The young king gulped. He wasn't that comfortable with it, but...“As long as it’s consensual…”

Was it a trick of the light, or did Kouha appear…relieved?

“Well,” the androgyny smiled as he stepped back, “we better hurry to dinner before the food’s gone cold and we waste Cook Lan’s efforts-”

“Kouha-san,” Alibaba interrupted. He needed to…he needed to understand who this man was before he made a choice. He needed to resolve this nagging feeling.

“Yes?” The slender General raised a fine eyebrow.

Alibaba clenched his fists. “You appreciate individuality.”

“…yes,” Kouha blinked, and paid more attention to Alibaba once he saw how serious the blonde was. “Don’t you find people who can think for themselves and have paved their way in life more…open-minded? Stronger? More beautiful?”

“I do,” Alibaba took a step forward. Like they were in a dance. He took a deep breath. “But you _are_ aware that…the world Prince Kouen and Prince Koumei envision doesn’t leave much room for individuality? That they intend to erase ideologies off history and steal the memories of people till they’re a bunch of obedient puppets?!” he couldn’t help but raise and raise his voice until his last word echoed on the thick walls.

Kouha flinched, and looked like he’d been punched for a moment, before indignity took over. “Don’t slander En-nii and brother Mei! We allow room for citizens of the colonies to advance socially if they work hard-”

“Isn’t that just rewarding obedience?” Alibaba swallowed bitterly. “The arts, the customs, the differences that make life so _rich,_ they aren’t to keep.”

“But they aren’t puppets!”

Alibaba sighed. Kouha was the type to respond passionately to heightened emotions, eh. “You’re right, I shouldn’t have said that,” the blonde raised his hands, “but surely you agree that citizens of the colonies have no say on where to live, what to wear, and have limited job choices? How can they maintain their individuality?”

Kouha opened and closed his mouth several times… He threw his gaze to the floor for a second, but his reply was firm. “It’s for the greater good.”

Alibaba squeezed his eyes. Kouha _knew_ the wrongness of Kou’s means. Yet… “…Dinner’s waiting,” he could only say.

Tawfiq looked pissed when the Balbaddian king returned to the dining hall. “…Your Majesty, with all due respect, would you please stop running off to be alone with them? Please think of your safety.”

“Tawfiq…” Alibaba rubbed his temples. He was in no mood for this. “They have no intention to kill me. They’ve had plenty of opportunities to finish me off and they hadn’t,” he said brusquely.

The vice-general pursed his lips. “But-”

“I’m going off to bed,” Alibaba announced in a louder voice, and nodded at Kouha. “If you’ll excuse me.”

The blonde was beat, but…he couldn’t sleep a wink. He tossed and turned in his expensive-looking bed for hours before the crow of the rooster roused him from a fitful cat nap.

The idea of staying curled up in bed with a stiff spine for a couple more hours didn’t appeal to him, so Alibaba got up, and went for a walk.

The thing about Kouha, Alibaba thought as his feet crossed bridges and gazebos mindlessly, was that his personal values aligned with Alibaba’s, but he was too loyal to his brothers, to the point he’d prioritized them above his personal beliefs.

Would time and distance away from Kouen and Koumei let Kouha see the errors of his brothers?

_Was Alibaba willing to make that bet?_

“Ouch!” Alibaba stubbed his toe against a stone statue he didn’t see, and as he was hopping around with one foot and clutching his other, he realized…his surroundings weren’t familiar. “Crap…”

“Huoh!” The blonde monarch heard someone yell as he tried to trace back his path, as though that person was releasing his energy, before the sound of something solid swishing through the air reached his ears. “Ha!” It was followed by a clack of wood against stone. This happened repeatedly.

_Who could it be, this early in the morning?_

Alibaba searched for the source and looked over the low fence, to find a thin young man with his dark-hair tied to a bun swinging a glaive about, flipping the weapon deftly with both arms and kicking and flying through the air in a practice routine, sweat soaking the back of his white robes. There was a beauty mark below his lip, and a patch of his face were darker than the rest. After watching him for a while, Alibaba figured it was a scar.

Yet, the young man was still…very handsome, if Alibaba might say. And his moves, they were so clean, efficient and controlled. He fought…very beautifully, his limbs very well coordinated. Alibaba wouldn’t have guessed those skinny arms possessed such strength…

“Who’s that?” The young man suddenly turned and _pierced_ him with his intense grey blue eyes, vivid and dark-rimmed on the right, but…paler on the left. Alibaba didn’t realized they were mismatched.  

Alibaba ducked reflexively, and felt silly for doing so. “Um…” he rose back to his feet, and approached the other man. “I’m lost,” he scratched his head.

The blonde was nervous as the young man (the son of a general, perhaps?) scanned him from the tip of his hair to his toe – taking note of his foreign features and sleeping robe, no doubt – before he smiled. It was an empty, polite expression, but it had softened his face so much Alibaba couldn’t help but marvel at it. “You’re the King of Balbadd who is staying with Kouha-dono.”

“Yes…” the title the third Imperial Prince was referred to puzzled Alibaba. Shouldn’t it be ‘His Imperial Highness’ or ‘Prince’, at least? “I'm Alibaba Saluja,” the blonde introduced himself, regardless.

The dark-haired man laid his spear on his torso, before clasping his hands and bowing respectfully. “I’m Ren Hakuryuu, the fourth Prince of Kou. I’ll be honoured to assist you, Your Majesty.”

TBC

Review please!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Modeled off the Forbidden Palace  
> 2\. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_Festival. A festival on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, on a full moon night near autumnal equinox, to worship the moon and show gratitude for a good harvest.  
> 3\. Not sure if Ohtaka-sensei intended it (most likely she did), but four (‘shi’ / ‘si’) in Chinese and Japanese cultures are both associated with death because of they are homophones, and we know Hakuryuu is the 4th Prince…


	7. The Prince of Death (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: SO SORRY for the…5 months hiatus. Work was shite in March (when is it not?), with 60-hour working weeks, not including weekends burnt in office. Then Singapore was swept in a fever of mourning for the loss of our founding father (it was nothing like I’ve seen before). After that, I sort of got detached from anime/manga/fanfiction until someone convinced me to watch Haikyuu and Kurobas (normally not a fan of sports anime), so I was distracted by them bishounen until I started writing Historical Fantasy AU again and could finally continue this.
> 
> Anyways, here you go! Alibaba's interaction with Hakuryuu isn't over in this chapter yet, btw, but you guys have been waiting for so long. I will continue in part 2.

“Good morning, Kouha.”

The androgynous, beautiful third Imperial Prince of Kou, who’d been the talk of female courtiers and ladies since he’d learned how to praise women, nearly choked on his porridge at the sight of his guests. “En-nii! Brother Mei!” He stood up and fussed, “Jinjin, tell Cook Lan to prepare two more sets of breakfast!”

“Y-yes!” the petite girl scrambled to exit the dining hall and run to the kitchen.

“No biggie,” Koumei told the younger redhead as he yawned widely, not bothering to cover his mouth with his fan.

Kouen gave him the evil eye before reaching out to pat Kouha. “We just want to ask how things have gone with the naïve King,” he made sure to lower his voice, although he’d checked that the blonde was absent.

Koumei pulled two chairs over, and they huddled as Kouha reported, “It’s been good. We went on a picnic at Jingyi two days ago and shopping at the Central market yesterday.”

“So, do you mind marrying him?” Koumei was never one to beat around the bush.

“Mind?” Kouha chuckled. “And refuse the _freedom_ to date every pretty woman publicly till I die? Not likely.”

Kouen sighed. “You’ll still need to behave moderately,” he reminded.

“I know,” the teenager’s tone changed, his downcast gaze somber. “…He’s been kind to my subordinates, and he’s accepted my hobbies. He’s exceeded my expectations of him.”

Kouha didn’t voice out that the chances of him finding a spouse more understanding than Alibaba were close to nil. This marriage was a strategic move. He shouldn’t allow himself to act on sentiments, this once. Not when Kou’s ambitions were at stake.

Anyways, even if Alibaba were an ugly, bigoted man with beer belly and bad skin, Kouha would still gladly marry him for En-nii. He knew he couldn’t be useful to his eldest brother the way Mei had been. Kouha was only thankful his pretty face could finally make an important contribution.

Kouha spied his brothers sharing a look before the curl of their lips widened, as though they were glad for him nevertheless. “Isn’t that great?”

Kouha couldn’t feel happy, however. “He asked…a question that sounded like a test,” he divulged while trying to keep his face as straight as possible, so as not to worry Kouen and Koumei. “And I didn’t know how well I did.”

Koumei clucked his tongue in annoyance. “What did he ask?”

Kouha ducked his head. This internal conflict between En-nii’s vision and Kouha’s tendencies would not see the light of the day until he stopped breathing. “…I forgot. Something trivial. I just thought of it strange,” he lied poorly.

Koumei looked incredulous. “How could you have forgot-”

Kouen sighed loudly and made a huge show out of looking out of the window, at the sun that had risen higher in the sky. “Where on earth is King Alibaba?”

There was a moment of silence where the youngest brother could almost hear the unspoken words communicated between the two older redheads and the buzz of multiple thoughts racing in Koumei’s brilliant brains.

Eventually, the freckled redhead shook his head. “It seems you’ve worn him out with your shopping, Kouha. Send someone after him?”

Kouha laughed, the voice a little too forced and too maniacal. He couldn’t express how relieved he was of the leeway.

* * *

Alibaba wondered if he’d heard the self-introduction wrongly. “The fourth…prince?”

“That’s right,” Hakuryuu replied with a puzzled look of his own. “Is anything the matter, Your Majesty?” he inquired as he wiped the sweat on his temple.

Alibaba frowned, “Lord Entei has never told me he has other brothers than Prince Koumei and Prince Kouha…”

Discomfort crept onto the young man’s face. “…I was adopted. My father is Emperor Koutoku’s late older brother. Technically, I am Lord Entei’s first cousin.”

“Oh,” Alibaba flushed in shame. How terribly tactless of him! He hoped Hakuryuu wouldn’t think badly of Kouen for not mentioning him. “I’m so sorry.”

“You didn’t know,” the blue-eyed royalty smiled wanly, the expression a little more genuine than the smile earlier. “It’s fine.”

Alibaba’s mind was whirling a mile a minute. Hakuryuu’s existence opened up possibilities he couldn’t think of earlier. He thought his only choices were Koumei and Kouha. “May I ask you a question, Prince Hakuryuu?”

“Anything, Your Majesty,” the dark-haired man picked up his weapon as it was rolling down to his elbow.

Alibaba threaded carefully, not wanting to put his foot in his mouth again. “How many sons has His Majesty Emperor Koutoku adopted?”

“I’m the only one,” If Hakuryuu thought the request strange, he didn’t show it. “But the Emperor has also adopted my sister, the first Imperial Princess, Ren Hakuei.”

 _So there is only one more candidate,_ Alibaba thought as he remarked, “I see.” _Better than nothing._ “It must be tough on you. I mean, I don’t have the same mother as my two older brothers, so,” Alibaba stopped himself before he rambled on. Siblings having different mothers was common in Kou’s polygamous royalty. Really, the comparison was neither relevant nor smooth.

Hakuryuu only shook his head. “Thank you, Your Majesty, but I still have my sister. It’s not tough at all.” As he talked, they heard distant sounds from other parts of the Palace: doors creaking open, water being poured from one container to another and servants chattering. The sounds of people starting their day.

“Shall we?” The dark-haired royalty started to head for a small gate Alibaba had overlooked at the far end of the empty yard.

Alibaba panicked inwardly. “W-wait!” He needed to think of ways to get this prince to spend more time with him now! The blonde had a feeling Kouen didn’t neglect to drop Hakuryuu’s name purely by mistake. God knew when else he would get to see the youth again-

“Yes?” Hakuryuu said patiently.

 _God, he must think of me a weird monarch,_ Alibaba was so embarrassed by how he behaved (what a first impression!), but he ploughed on. The sight of the sword tucked under the belt of his sleeping robe, which he’d always carried with him even in Balbadd, gave him an idea. “May I please practice against you?”

Hakuryuu blinked profusely. “…Kouha-dono is expecting your company at breakfast, isn’t he?”

Alibaba cursed in his head. _Have I been marked for marriage with Kouha? Is that how the rest of Kou’s Palace sees me?_ [1] Instead of trying for more words, the blonde merely pulled his weapon out of its sheath, and charged.

Hakuryuu’s reaction was lightning fast. He blocked the attack and flipped the glaive to hit Alibaba with the butt of the rod. The blonde leapt out of range before he could be impacted.

“I’ve been dying for a good practice since the carriage ride from Aomen,” his gaze was unyielding when Alibaba tucked his left hand behind his back and held the sword in front of him. “You will indulge me, won’t you?”

Hakuryuu was still wide-eyed as he pulled the glaive close to him and placed it on an upright position. “Surely, Kouha-dono-”

“I’m interested in practicing against you, Your Highness,” Alibaba cut in, his tone casual but his eyes steely. He debated against himself on how to best goad the prince – implying that he was scared? Igniting a sense of rivalry against Kouha? – and he settled on the truth. “I’ve wanted to, since I first saw you.”

The dark-haired prince was still for a moment, watching Alibaba seriously before the lines of his jaws shifted and he swung his spear, pointing the blade at him as he bent his knees. “Then, I will indulge you, Your Majesty.”

His teacher, Barkak, had told him once that one could gauge a man’s personality by how he fought. Alibaba hadn’t fought enough times to ascertain it, but by God, he wished the analysis was true. Because Hakuryuu fought without any dirty tricks, his thrusts direct, never aiming for weak spots like the back of his head or his kidneys. The focus in those mismatched eyes, his impeccable balance, his nimbleness…Alibaba worked up a sweat trying to match him, and there was enough strength in his blocks that Alibaba couldn’t simply push his way through.

The Balbaddian couldn’t help but sense that something was off, however, as he parried a blow with the back of his blade and slid forward, crouching down then springing up with the tip of his sword nearly grazing his opponent’s neck.

“You’re holding back,” Alibaba narrowed his eyes. “Don’t. It doesn’t do me any good. Nor you.”

Caught red-handed, Hakuryuu’s cheeks turned red. “But you’re the King of Balbadd,” his whispered, his throat bobbing closely to the sharp edge of Alibaba’s weapon. “To fight you with the intention to harm, that’s a crime.”

“I’m not _that_ weak, I assure you,” Alibaba insisted. When Hakuryuu didn’t seem convinced, the blonde pretended to be offended. “Are you insulting me?”

“No!” Hakuryuu shouted so loudly Alibaba had to recoil so that his knife wouldn’t cut him.

“Then, let’s start over,” Alibaba moved away, and resumed his stance.

The dark-haired young man, however, raised the glaive high above his head, and lifted one leg. “Here I go.”

* * *

“What’s happening? Why are you crowded here?” A guard asked as he was patrolling the Imperial Garden and saw a group of servants pressed against the edges of a gate, gawking at something.

“Oh! Prince Hakuryuu’s fighting against Prince Kouha’s guest! The pretty golden-haired King-” One of the laundry women answered in hushed breaths.

“Careful! You may get into trouble, calling him that,” he frowned. “Are you sure you have time for this?”

“But look at them!” a young eunuch in his preteens said excitedly. “So cool!”

The guard looked, and had to admit, it was more exhilarating than circus. He’d glimpsed Prince Hakuryuu’s morning practices occasionally since joining Lord Entei’s garrison five years ago, and the youngest Prince’s skills reflected his hard work and discipline.

The exotic guest, too, was a force to be reckoned with, so quick-footed and in command of his body, dodging quickly with high jumps and slipping through spaces between the wooden rod of the glaive and its wielder. His blade had come close to reaching Prince Hakuryuu’s chest and throat repeatedly. The fourth Imperial Prince of Kou was equally swift in handling his weapon and warding him away with the butt of his glaive, again and again.

They were so well-matched, it seemed to have been stuck in a stalemate.

At least, until the foreign King’s unbound shoulder-length hair flew to his eyes, breaking his concentration.

There was a loud clang as the blonde’s short sword skittered to the side, the back of his hand bright red from the smack.

“Oooh!” The spectators gasped in awe unanimously, before one of them remembered they weren’t supposed to be watching. “Sshh!”

Prince Hakuryuu retreated slightly, the tension in his arms relaxing. “Thank you for your time, Your-”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence; the Balbaddian King had delivered a flying kick to his head, which the scarred Prince barely deflected with his arm. This time, it was his glaive that fell to the ground, and as Prince Hakuryuu rushed to retrieve it, the blonde grabbed one of the black ribbons that trailed from the crown on the Orient's topknot and looped it around his pale neck.

“I’m sorry if you feel that I’m cheating,” the King with misleading slender build spoke against Prince Hakuryuu’s cheek from behind him, both hands holding on to the makeshift noose loosely. “But real life battles end when one of the participants die. Losing one’s weapon has nothing to do with it.”

Mismatched pale eyes widened, and thin dark brows were knitted tightly before his face loosened. “You’re right,” Prince Hakuryuu remarked with a polite smile.

The guard sighed. For an Imperial Prince of Kou to be defeated by someone from her colonies…what an embarrassment. Lord Entei would never make this mistake.

The others must be thinking it, too, because they soon dispersed on their own accord. “Okay, show’s over. Back to work!”

All in all, a normal day for most inhabitants of Kou’s Palace.

Except for one.

* * *

Alibaba eyed his dark-haired opponent’s smile disquietly. Hakuryuu appeared to have accepted his loss gracefully, but Alibaba could sense the frustration bubbling under the fragilely calm veneer, and not much of it was actually directed at Alibaba. The blonde frowned. “Your Highness,” he began.

“There you are!” He was interrupted by the harried figure of his Vice-General. “Prince Kouen and Prince Koumei were visiting Prince Kouha when they noticed you were missing, and now they’ve caused a ruckus-”

Hakuryuu took the chance to slip away. “It’s been a great practice, Your Majesty. I’m afraid I shall excuse myself for the time being,” he disappeared around the corner after a quick bow.

Alibaba groaned. “Tawfiq,” he stopped his bodyguard’s nagging with a commending tone. “Find out where he lives.”

The older man looked at his ruler like he’d gone mad, but there must be _something_ in his expression, because Tawfiq took the order seriously. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

"No room for failure, Tawfiq," Alibaba warned. He refused to let the encounter end just like that.

And the rukh agreed. It was just the beginning.

TBC

Comment please!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. I got this idea from Akuma_River. Thanks, dear!
> 
> Again, so sorry for the hiatus!


	8. The Prince of Death (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update took a while because I re-watched some Magi episodes to get the feel of Hakuryuu better. I totally forgot he could do Magoi Manipulation! Let's say, he didn't do it in his practice against Alibaba because Hakuryuu's primary purpose of Magoi Manipulation is to sharpen his blade, and he didn't intend to pierce Alibaba with it during the practice at all, okay? Haha

The moment King Alibaba stepped foot into the dining hall, Kouha knew that yesterday’s easy interactions were irrevocably lost.

Still, the third Imperial Prince tried. He placed his hands on his waist and pouted bossily. “Where have you been, geez! You’ve made Cook Lan’s work harder unnecessarily!”

“Sorry, sorry,” the blonde laughed in response, but anyone could see his mind was miles away. “I went for a walk and got lost. Silly me, right?”

Brother Koumei and En-nii exchanged a glance, before the freckled redhead groaned. “I knew it. You airhead! We worried for nothing!”

En-nii nodded. “Now that we’ve ascertained that you’re all right, we shall take our leave.”

“See you at the Moon Festival, or before that!” Brother Koumei waved lazily, before sending Kouha a mildly desperate look that screamed, ‘do something about this!’ from behind Alibaba.

Said Balbaddian sat in front of his reheated porridge obliviously and scratched his head, genuinely appearing curious and present for once. “Ascertained that I’m all right…what could have happened to me inside this Palace?”

Kouha’s mind subconsciously wandered to the eerie woman at his father’s side, to their manic high priest, and tried his damnest not to shudder. Instead, he put on a wide smile. “Fall into a pond, may be?” The third Imperial Prince laughed when his guest huffed. “What would you like to do today, Alibaba?”

“Nothing, actually,” the blonde returned his smile, but it was mere politeness. His expression was completely shuttered off. “I’m a little tired from our vigorous last two days,” the lines of his face took on an apologetic slant.

Kouha debated against himself how insistent he should be, but perhaps, perhaps Alibaba was speaking the truth. “I see.” Tomorrow, he would be assertive tomorrow, the pink-haired Prince promised himself. “I’ll see you later at dinner?”

But Alibaba shook his head. “I will be replying my brother’s letters and catching up on Balbadd’s governance. Please don’t wait for me,” he put down his spoon next to his empty bowl and rose to his feet. “Thank you for the meal and the offer, Kouha,” the blonde bowed his head, and left.

The moment his guest was out of sight, Kouha slid down his seat and heaved a defeated sigh.

Immediately, his three loyal attendants rushed to his side. “How dare he, who does he think he is-” Junjun and Reirei fumed.

Jinjin quietly placed one hand on her master’s shoulder. “It’ll be all right,” she encouraged him.

Kouha smiled at her sincerely, and gave her hand a squeeze. “Thank you.”

_I hope it’ll be._

* * *

Alibaba wasn’t lying.

He did spend hours after breakfast hiding at a secluded corner of the Southern Three Halls, the study restricted to Kou’s Princes (and guests, apparently). The only people Alibaba could have the luck (or bad luck) to run into were Hakuryuu or Koumei, because Kouen would be too busy, and Kouha had expressed his utter lack of interest in reading. Alibaba deemed it safe enough a place to read the report Sahbmad had sent through a courier pigeon, describing in great length how the visit of the first ambassador they’d sent to Reim went. The blonde didn’t have to read word for word to understand the conclusion; Sahbmad tended to lose himself in details when things turned south, as though not spelling the issue out would make it unreal.

Alibaba leaned back on his chair and massaged his temple. He hadn’t expected much from Reim, really, but knowing that that avenue was completely out was…stressful to him. Especially now, after knowing the risks involved in marrying Kouha.

 _Everything depended on Hakuryuu_.      

Alibaba paused his train of thoughts as his hands inked gratitude for Sahbmad’s efforts and suggestions for future Reim-Balbadd relations on auto-pilot, and sniggered self-deprecatingly. A good economist would never put all his eggs in the same basket. _Are you an idiot, self?_

To distract himself in his wait, Alibaba helped himself to the resources before him, stacks and stacks of not just knowledge Kou’s scribes had inked, but texts bought from older civilisations. The blonde devoured the first volume of _The Art of War_ in the blink of an eye, and was reaching for the second volume…

Only to find it absent.

As was the third volume. And forth volume.

The fifth was, thankfully sitting further along the shelf, and they didn’t needed to be read chronologically. But a cursory glance at other serial titles told Alibaba that some had volumes missing.

Were they…checked out by Kouen? Or Koumei? Both were well-read and intellectuals, after all…

As Alibaba was moving on to Ancient Reim’s Virgil’s _Eclogues_ (the poems were, expectedly, untouched), Tawfiq found him. “Your Majesty, please let me lead you to Prince Hakuryuu’s residence.”

Alibaba nodded, pleased, and was putting back his scrolls when the Vice-General pursed his lips, seeming like he had something to say, before throwing his gaze.

The blonde sighed. “What is it, Tawfiq?” He didn’t keep his throne by ignoring his people. It was the other way round.

“You may think it’s too late for me to say this, Your Majesty,” the muscular man began hesitantly, his head bowed, “but…do you really have to…do this?” He waved a hand around, gesturing at the Palace, Kou, the journey he’d come along with so far. “Do…do you,” he gulped, “not believe our resolve to fight for your, our freedom?”

Alibaba stared at the crown of his man’s head, his smile bittersweet. “I believe it.”

“Then-” Tawfiq looked up quickly, face filled with hope and steel.

“Make sure to send my reply to Sahbmad,” the half-commoner King interrupted, handing his bodyguard his sealed letter as he passed the larger man on his way to the exit. At Tawfiq’s wide eyes, he said quietly, “Have faith in my resolve, Tawfiq.”

* * *

Prince Hakuryuu’s quarter was…barely part of the Palace.

Located so far back the complex, away from the throne room, the library, the kitchens – everywhere – wide but Spartan, the building functional but drab.

The moment Alibaba walked past the gates, though, he was awed by the vast expanse of vegetation, leaves of all shapes and gradations of greens as far as the eyes could see, crowded against red brick walls. Big, round green tomatoes were hanging off thin drooping stalks, patches of red spreading on the smooth skin, egg plants slowly turning a rich shade of purple.

Having lived in a Kingdom surrounded by sands his whole life, this sight was a _treat_.

“I am afraid I shall have to refuse you once again, Oracle-dono,” a familiar voice drifted from deeper inside.

Alibaba turned, and saw two people facing each other: someone whose face was shielded by a wide-brimmed hat, gloved hands carrying a metallic watering can, and a tall young man with thick, shiny long black hair tied to a braid that cascaded down the curve of his exposed back, golden bangled necklace and bracelets wrapped around his slender swan-like neck and well-built forearms, and a white Indian chunnari strewn across his broad shoulders.

The blonde couldn’t help but gawk. The latter was attractive…yet, a second later Alibaba shuddered. There was something about him…and aura that chilled the Balbaddian to the bone.

“Stop wasting your time, Hakuryuu. You’re meant for bigger things,” the taller of the two spread his hands, dissing the garden before him, before he patted the top of the straw hat. “I know you’ll change your mind. I’ll come again!” he spun around.

The ‘Oracle’ passed Alibaba on his way out, hooded red eyes piercing as they assessed him. The Balbaddian King must have been found wanting, because he didn’t even stop to acknowledge Alibaba, just sneered, and purposely bumped into his shoulder.

Meanwhile, Hakuryuu squinted at Alibaba over the edge of his hat. “Your Majesty?” he sounded surprised.

“Hi, Prince Hakuryuu!” Alibaba waved cheerily and barged into the other royalty’s home, proprieties be damned. Stumbling upon this out-of-the-way place was not a believable excuse, so the blonde settled with another truth, “we parted so abruptly this morning! I have wanted to talk to you more.”

Alibaba had the feeling honesty worked best with this Prince, whose gaze was always straight and serious.

(Truthfully, he was curious about the Oracle, too. Was he the ‘magi’ Alibaba had read from Sinbad’s stories? Why did he give a different impression from Yunan? Alibaba’s intuition told him that Hakuryuu wouldn't answer him, though, so he pushed the questions to the back of his mind.)

The puzzlement on that sweaty face screamed, ‘Why me?’ before Hakuryuu appeared to have resigned himself to the foreign King’s interest in him. “You could have sent for me. There is no need for you to go all the way here.”

‘ _And let Kouen scrutinize our interactions? Not likely,_ ’ Alibaba only smiled in response. “Hey, hey,” he let his attention be stolen by a large area of land filled with tall stalks of golden pointy seeds clustered together, tall spikes extending far beyond the seeds. “What’s this? Wheat?”

“Barley,” the dark-haired Prince answered reflexively, “They are also used to produce flour for noodles and dumpling skins.”

Alibaba had heard of the plant before. “And beer?” His eyes sparkled enthusiastically.

Mismatched-eyes blinked, before their owner chuckled. “Yes, that too. Though I do not know how to brew them.”

Alibaba dramatized his gasp. “What a waste!” he looked around again. “What about that?” the blonde pointed at an arching shrub with dainty white and yellow flowers.

“Honeysuckle flowers. They can be used to relieve internal heat,” Hakuryuu explained patiently, but his expression grew wary. “Your Majesty, I didn’t know you’re interested in plants.”

“You sure know a lot about them!” Alibaba praised his companion, before he hummed, “my Kingdom is surrounded by deserts. We rely on fishing and trade for food, so I want to diversify and research on what I can plant in my place...”

“I see…” Hakuryuu looked satisfied with the blonde’s reasoning. He was either very cautious or couldn’t believe that anyone could have so much interest in him…and both were kind of sad. “Then, I recommend millet. They can be grown in semi-arid tropics. Ah, and there is this fruit-” he ran into the house, leaving the watering can by Alibaba’s feet. Not sure if he should follow, the blonde waited around until he perceived that the plants near him hadn’t been watered and tended to them, hoping that Hakuryuu didn’t add any species-specific fertilizer into the water-

“Oh, you don’t have to!” Hakuryuu appeared mortified.

“I want to help,” Alibaba cut in, but was soon distracted by the oval, vibrantly coloured fruit in Hakuryuu’s hand, dark pink scale-like leafy skin turning green at the tips. “Wow.”

“It was a tribute from the south Emperor Koutoku had kindly shared with us. It’s called dragon fruit,” Hakuryuu’s face lit up whenever he talked about his plants. His passion for them was so apparent. “I’ve been trying to cultivate them here, but there have always been water retention issues…Perhaps, the climate is too humid. In any case, I would like to present this to you,” the scarred Prince handed Alibaba the fruit.

The blonde gaped. “Is it okay? It’s an important gift, right?”

Hakuryuu’s smile was the most genuine Alibaba had seen so far. “It’s an honour.”

The way their calloused palms brushed, and the expression on the dark-haired Prince’s face made the blonde King’s cheeks felt warm. “T-thanks-” he croaked.

Hakuryuu mistook it for Alibaba’s discomfort. “Are you thirsty, Your Majesty?”

“Call me Alibaba, please,” the blonde winced internally, not believing how long he’d let the title that only put distance between them lie. “I want to call you Hakuryuu,” he said before the dark-haired royalty could rebut. “After all, you’ve been so kind to give me a present,” he grinned.

Hakuryuu watched Alibaba with a light frown, before he sighed. “Follow me inside then, Alibaba-dono.”

The blonde’s grin quivered as his lips curled further upward. It had felt like a little victory.

The mismatched-eyed Prince had his guest sit at the round table at the centre of the room as he prepared some kind of beverage. Alibaba was observing his surroundings idly when he spied some scrolls laid open on the makeshift study next to the bed. He stepped closer to it, peering at the title, and-

“Here,” Hakuryuu served a glass of milky white liquid, pearly pieces of what seemed like rice swirling at the bottom.

“Thanks!” the drink was faintly sweet, and extremely refreshing. Alibaba liked it. “It’s good!”

“It’s made from barley,” Hakuryuu seemed to swell with pride.

“Really? What a useful plant!” Alibaba remarked, and picked up the scroll he was examining. It was the second volume of _The Art of War_. “Did you by any chance pick this from the Southern Three Halls?”

“Yes…” Hakuryuu trailed off, then suddenly blushed. “Oh, you were looking for it, weren’t you? I apologize for having kept it-”

“Ah, no, it’s all right! First come first serve, after all-” as Alibaba was reassuring the other male, he noted…the scroll next to the second volume of _The Art of War_ actually had the same content. It was just…unfinished, like someone was copying the original text halfway. “Were you…making a duplicate?” Did Hakuryuu aspire to be a scribe? Or a scholar? But the way he practiced his glaive…

The pink of the Imperial Prince of Kou’s pale skin turned deeper red. “I...comprehend them better after I copy them,” he admitted in a small voice.

The answer…made Alibaba smile. He remembered how stupid he’d felt, when he’d just entered his father’s house. Aristocratic children half his age knew more than him, could read and write twice as fast. He hated the frustrations that had built up after reading a page a dozen times and still not understanding.

“For me, I need someone to teach me,” Alibaba made himself comfortable on the opposite side of the desk. “Would you please teach me?”

Again, Hakuryuu obliged him. Hours passed quickly as they discussed interpretations, and even though soon enough Alibaba was expounding concepts to Hakuryuu instead of the other way round (because the second volume was about the economy of warfare), the blonde was relieved that the Imperial Prince of Kou didn’t mind. As expected, the dark-haired royalty learnt better with real-life examples, which he lacked because for some reason, he was never part of Kou’s army.

Hakuryuu was…who Alibaba imagined Kouha would be like when he heard that the pink-haired beauty was a General – studious, hardworking, and dutiful.

He was different from Kouen and Koumei. They knew more, aware that they knew more, hence they could be…stubborn and arrogant. Hakuryuu was extremely humble and thirsty for knowledge, though he was not without a stubborn side.

“There is no honour in war. ‘All warfare is based on deception,’ he wrote so!” Alibaba argued vehemently.

“But-” before Hakuryuu could begin, a loud growl had emerged from the blonde’s belly.

Alibaba was awfully embarrassed. “Uh, we did skip dinner…” he excused himself, and quickly prevented Hakuryuu’s apology. “Time sure flies, eh? I have been enjoying myself so much!”

A tiny smile blossomed on the dark-haired Prince’s lips. “So have I,” he admitted softly.

Alibaba’s heart stopped.

“A-ah, s-shall we request something from the kitchen, then-” the blonde rose to his feet and started heading out before his whole face turn completely red-

“Wait,” the fingers curled around his wrist, thumb brushing across sensitive veins, wasn’t making it better.

A glance at Hakuryuu’s serious countenance felt like a bucket of cold water, though. “It’s nearly the Hour of the Rat [1]. Let us not disturb them.”

That moment, Alibaba’s stomach growled a second time, as though reminding them that food was non-negotiable.

Hakuryuu’s chuckle was fond. “If my cooking will do, I will prepare some food for you.”

Alibaba shook his head fervently. “How could I- Surely, you can’t tell me Kou royalties or guests never ask for midnight snack before?”

The dark-haired Prince looked conflicted. Alibaba had seen him engage in white lies and avoidance tactics, but outright lies didn’t seem to be something Hakuryuu was comfortable spouting. Eventually, he settled with, “The kitchen doesn’t take such requests from here.”

Which told Alibaba enough. Servants always tried to get away with spending as little effort as possible for masters with no future, whose complaints nobody would listen to, preferring to focus on masters who would rise in power so they too could rise with them.

Alibaba had experienced it first-hand. His laundered clothes had been returned creased, the corners of his room always dusty until King Rashid commented on it absently. At that time, all Alibaba could feel was shame; that he couldn’t even command the respect of his servants.

Alibaba looked over the window, at the variety of food grown outside. Now the garden made a lot of sense. [2]

It was uncanny, how similar Alibaba felt he and Hakuryuu were. Sometimes.

“Hakuryuu,” the blonde began as he helped with cutting up lotus roots – a privilege hard won after a ten-minute squabble which only ended because the water was boiling. “Why hadn’t you joined Kouen’s army?” he asked the question that had been nagging him since he’d learned of the facts.

The sound of stirring of pot from next to him stopped. There was a pause, before Hakuryuu answered, "I'm primarily interested in the academics."

He hadn't and wouldn't always, though? Alibaba could hear the white lie. The Balbaddian persisted, pretending to be too caught up in keeping his fingers away from the blade to read the mood, “It’ll give you the real-life experience which will help a lot with your learning. And if your social standing in the Palace improves, that’s a bonus too-”

The sound of something sharp swishing through the air made the blonde snap. He was alarmed to see that his companion had dropped his knife onto his chopping block. “Hakuryuu-” he rushed to his side.

“Thanks for the advice,” the scarred young man was smiling, but there was _something_ in the undercurrent of his voice. A viciousness. The lines of his face were wounded tightly, anger mixed with other emotions which could be hatred flashing across his eyes. “But I don't think I will.” It was gone all too quickly, but there was finality in his declaration, the determination that it would be over his dead body.

Alibaba took a sharp breath.

This was it. This was what he was looking for. A Kou Prince who wasn’t under Kouen’s thumb.

Yet, there was still so much he didn’t know about Hakuryuu, so much the mismatched-eyed man kept as secrets.

Who would Alibaba take a chance on? The transparent, charming Kouha, whose loyalty was not his, or Hakuryuu?

(Later, as Alibaba stuffed his mouth with Hakuryuu’s heavenly stir-fried vegetables and soupy noodles, he couldn’t help but think that the kitchen’s abhorrent laziness was a blessing in disguise.)

TBC

Comment please :)!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. The old Japanese/Chinese clock was divided to 12 periods, each named after an animal of the Chinese Zodiac. The Hour of the Rat is approximately 11 pm – 1 am  
> 2\. I tried to make sense of Hakuei’s advice to Hakuryuu on being self-reliant, and Hakuryuu’s superb cooking skills, and came up with this speculation.
> 
> I can't sense any budding romance in this chapter...still, I hope it's worth the wait :3


	9. A Proposal under the Moonlight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I came across another Arranged-Marriage!AliRyuu, Opportunism in Happenstance (‘OiH’) by Sayasamax3. Alibaba is gender-bent there, but it’s good! The atmosphere is lighter, and OiH has better characterisation. Hakuryuu and Alibaba behave like teenagers there, and the budding romance is so sweet and believable. There are politics there, too. Sadly, it’s discontinued, but may be the author may pick it up again?
> 
> Link’s here: http://sayasamax3.tumblr.com/tagged/opportunism-in-happenstance

“You’re too predictable!”

“Huh?” Hakuryuu was almost half a beat too late from blocking the elbow heading for his jaws. As usual, Alibaba-dono was a ball of surprises. There was no routines to his offences; he moved as if guided by reflexes. Another example: Hakuryuu raised his glaive to obstruct the blade aimed at his throat, having mentally calculated the trajectory of the blonde’s swing and counteracted with his best angle. But at the last minute, the slant of Alibaba-dono’s shoulders dropped, and Hakuryuu found his stomach jabbed by Alibaba-dono’s left knuckles.

“Oof!” The scarred boy felt the air leaving his lungs in a great rush, before Alibaba-dono tackled him and pinned his hips down with his weight.

“You’re so ethical,” Alibaba-dono got up to his feet and offered his hand as Hakuryuu adjusted his training schedule in his head, taking a couple hours off sleep to start morning practices earlier. They’d had matches every day, and Hakuryuu had never won. “This is not a tournament,” the younger man stared at the proffered hand blankly for a while, before taking it. “You can…ah, this sounds bad, but you can really fight a little dirtier,” Alibaba-dono grinned sheepishly.

‘ _Like you’ve done,_ ’ Hakuryuu thought, irritation beginning to bubble under his skin.

Hakuryuu used to wonder what kind of a person King Alibaba Saluja of Balbadd was, before the blonde barged into his tranquil life with a bang. Balbadd was not a Kingdom to watch out for, unlike Reim or Sindria. In the greater scheme of things, she was just a trading post. But it was curious how a cluster of islands with no natural resources – no gems, metals or oil to rely on, just salt and a lot of sand – could survive, no, thrive over her neighbours along the same coastal line who theoretically shared similar ‘strategic location’. Under a boy King who was just a year older than Hakuryuu.

Sure, Balbadd wasn’t built overnight; Alibaba-dono’s ancestors had contributed much to her development. And Alibaba-dono could have just been a puppet.

After meeting him in person…Hakuryuu didn’t know whether he should be disappointed or awed. On one hand, Alibaba-dono was so…easy-going. His attention span could be so short, moving on to new things that caught his fancy before Hakuryuu finished answering a question he’d asked barely two minutes ago. The notion of following a timetable was disdainful to Alibaba-dono.

On the other hand, Hakuryuu knew Alibaba-dono was smart. He understood the scrolls faster than Hakuryuu, despite claiming otherwise, and when they were discussing case studies…the younger royalty couldn’t help but be…amazed by the originality of the King’s suggestions.

(No wonder Kouen wanted to keep him.)

“One more time?” the blonde cocked his head, snapping Hakuryuu out of his reverie.

The mismatched-eyed Prince squeezed the handle of his glaive. “Let’s.”

They charged at each other ferociously, Hakuryuu even more so, fuelled by frustration over his lack of progress. If Alibaba-dono had noticed it, he didn’t mention anything.

An image of Judar flashed into Hakuryuu’s mind. ‘ _Stop wasting your time, Hakuryuu,’_ the Magi had said with a condescending smirk.

Hakuryuu gritted his teeth as he surveyed his opponent. Alibaba-dono’s stance was pretty air-tight, but…

 _‘Stop dawdling!’_ Hakuryuu scowled at himself. He needed to be stronger, soon-

‘ _There it is,’_ he spotted a weakness, which was surprisingly easy once he stopped restricting himself to fair-plays.

Hakuryuu let the momentum of his swing bring him within arms’ length of the blonde’s face, and as the King stopped the pole with his left forearm, Hakuryuu extended his left hand to those locks of golden hair and _yanked._ [1]

“Ouch!” Alibaba-dono exclaimed, amber eyes wide in surprise. But, as they tumbled to the ground and rolled until Hakuryuu had the King on his back below him, fingers wrapped tightly around the blonde’s dominant wrist and his neck, the grin on Alibaba-dono’s face was downright _proud._

“How was it?” Hakuryuu huffed, couldn’t help the smirk tugging his lips.

“Brilliant,” Alibaba-dono replied instantly, rather thoughtlessly, before he blinked. “On second thought, don’t do it too many times; I’m going to turn bald…”

Hakuryuu laughed as he got off his sparring partner. It was a bad idea, considering how breathless he was, but he felt light-headed in a good way. Which he hadn’t felt since Sister Hakuei and Seisyun departed.

Alibaba-dono was staring at him like he was amazed.

“What is it?” Hakuryuu felt self-conscious.

The blonde King smiled softly. “Laughter suits you.”

Hakuryuu blushed. “I- Uh- T-thank you.”

“Hey, Hakuryuu,” later, after the weather cooled down and the sun nearly set, Alibaba-dono requested to be taught how to transplant trees and shrubs, so they got down to their knees and buried their hands deep in the earth. “You said you have a sister, right? Is she around?”

Hakuryuu turned pensive. “She’s on a campaign to the Northern Tenzan Plateau,” he answered detachedly.

“I see…” Alibaba-dono slid his gaze toward him, but the fourth Imperial Prince used his hands to keep the blonde facing the roots. These things got transplant shock easily, geez. “Will she be in the Moon Festival?”

Her latest letters mentioned nothing of the sort. “…I don’t think so.”

Alibaba-dono slumped. “I won’t get to see her, then, since I’ll be returning to Balbadd after the Moon Festival.”

“Oh,” Hakuryuu blinked, and berated himself for being…dumbfounded. Of course, Alibaba-dono had responsibilities to his Kingdom. Of course, the blonde had to leave Kou one day.

(And most probably with Kouha-dono on his arm.)

Why was he feeling…bereft? They’d only spent time together for four, five days, each time never longer than six Zodiac animal hours. Granted, those had been enjoyable hours, Alibaba-dono’s companionship soothing the loneliness Hakuryuu didn’t notice had begun to creep around him…

_(Who was he trying to kid? Hakuryuu had always been lonely.)_

“Hakuryuu?” the fourth Imperial Prince turned to heed the call, and his heart nearly dropped to see Alibaba-dono frowning at him, the King’s attention _completely away from Hakuryuu’s healthiest peach sapling._

“Eyes on the roots!” Hakuryuu barked, both arms reaching around Alibaba-dono by instincts to support the clump of soil clinging to the tiny hairs furthest away from the root ball. Those tiny hairs, the most fragile of them all, actually did the hardest work. “How many times do I need to tell you-”

By the time Hakuryuu was aware of what he’d done, they were sharing the same breath, his face merely inches away from Alibaba-dono’s.

The fourth Imperial Prince couldn’t look away from the King’s honey-coloured irises, the trembling of his golden long lashes. Hakuryuu was fascinated by the olive shade of his skin, the paleness of every strand of hair on his face, exotic features seldom seen at Kou. Alibaba-dono’s back was pressed entirely against his chest, expanding with every inhale, his body warm.

Amber eyes dropped lower, ‘ _to my lips,’_ Hakuryuu realised with a jolt, and stepped back, throwing his face away from the blonde. He didn’t need the mirror to know that he was flushed deep red. He stuttered, “I-I’m sor-”

“I’ll miss you,” Alibaba-dono interrupted. “You’ve been a great friend.”

Hakuryuu dared himself to look at the monarch, only to see a genuine smile, twisted with what he assumed was sadness over their impending parting.

The dark-haired teenager sighed in relief. He didn’t ruin it. “Me too,” he returned the expression.

It was a good dream.

* * *

Alibaba inhaled deeply as he inspected his appearance in the mirror one last time.

The Balbaddian was wearing his most expensive silk, the boat-necked salmon fabric swathing his frame alluringly, contrasting with the glaring red of his sash and the gold of the neck piece that broadened his shoulders. His hair and fingers are similarly decked in jewellery, kohl and rouge decorating his eyes and lips. It had taken him a long time to put together a good balance of seductive and authoritative; Alibaba was pleased with the result.

“Alibaba?” Kouha came to get him, Tawfiq and the third Imperial Prince’s eccentric, loyal supporters behind him.

Alibaba made sure his mask was in place, the finishing touch. “I’m ready,” he smiled at his host.

Today was the day of reckoning.

The blonde felt Emperor Koutoku’s intense eyes checking him out the moment he entered the lavish hall where most members of Kou’s royalty and important personnel of her governance (judging from the clothes they wore, simply screaming of wealth) were seated. Kouen and Koumei were there, accentuated by the glow of the various red lanterns that littered the ceiling. The monarch and the Crown Princes sat in front of a huge round cake at the centre of the room, thirteen pieces stacked on top of each other, smaller toward the top. Kouha was seated beside his big brothers, and naturally, Alibaba next to the beautiful androgynous Prince.

The blonde searched through the guests, and found Hakuryuu at the back, in the same row with two prettily dressed red-haired young women. There was…family resemblance. They must be Kou Imperial Princesses. Alibaba sent Hakuryuu a small wave when he caught the dark-haired Prince’s eyes.

“King Alibaba, how has your stay been?” Emperor Koutoku addressed him after the ceremony where incense was burned and offered to deities was over. The cake was cut and distributed. “I regret that I was not able to greet you earlier. My Empress is unwell today. She sends her regards.”

The Emperor's face was more lined than Alibaba thought, the groves so deep they were like...an illness. “It’s all right. Please send her mine as well,” nevertheless, the blonde smiled amicably and leaned forward to show more of his exposed collarbones. Emperor Koutoku had biologically fathered ten children; he expectedly was a womanizer, something Alibaba was going to milk for what it was worth. “Your sons have been extremely hospitable.” He bit into his cake and moaned as he chewed on the sweet lotus-seed filling and the flaky skin of the pastry. “This is good.”

Alibaba didn’t miss Emperor Koutoku’s gulp, or the way his eyes lingered on the blonde’s lips. From the look Kouen, Koumei and Kouha exchanged, they had seen it too. Nobody said a word.

Conversations were kept light as performers put on dragon and lion dances and the guests expressed appreciations of the beauty of the full moon. After standing ovations were given and Alibaba put all his years of observing his mother at work to use, Kouen’s patience appeared to have run thin.

“Your Majesty, I believe you have something to ask my father…?”

Alibaba’s smile tightened for a fraction of a second before he tucked a stray lock of golden hair behind his ear, smirking inwardly when he felt eyes following the movement. “Indeed,” he cleared his throat, and rose to his feet.

Everyone watched as Alibaba sashayed to the centre of the room, conversations diminishing to soft whispers as the foreign King dropped to one knee and placed one arm across his chest. “Your Majesty,” his voice was firm as he spoke, his gaze direct, “would you give me the hand of your son, the fourth Imperial Prince Ren Hakuryuu, in marriage?”

TBC

Comment please!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. The whole exchange and hair-pulling is inspired by Sayasama3x’s OiH chapter 8. I pretty much just copied the scene, only changed the characterisation and motives of Alibaba and Hakuryuu. And of course, the writing style.


	10. The Flightless Bird in a Gilded Cage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: there are some gore in Hakuryuu’s nightmare, and homophobic sentiments.
> 
> A/N: I want to thank Lendra-san (http://archiveofourown.org/users/Lendra/pseuds/Lendra) and Aglio_Saggezza-san (http://archiveofourown.org/users/Aglio_Saggezza/pseuds/Aglio_Saggezza) for having explained your understanding of Hakuryuu with me. This chapter actually wasn't hard to write at all, thanks to you!
> 
> What caused the delay, then? Oh my, I had the shittiest luck this weekend. First, my internal network adapter just stopped working. So suddenly. And the external WLAN adapter I bought couldn't be detected by the USB port. Now, I'm tethering my retired smartphone, which acts as my wifi adapter. Still, I wasted money on the external WLAN adapter and time worrying about my laptop T_T.
> 
> And then, I also lost my staff pass...and will have to pay 30 bucks fine. I spent time and energy retracing my steps in the hopes of finding it...to no avail.
> 
> Anyways, without further ado...your long-awaited update :)

‘One, two, three…’ Hakuei counted her rhythm in her head as she thrust her sword forward, before flicking her wrist, swinging her blade upward and charging at an imaginary foe, the shiny metal reflecting the bright light of the full moon above her. As cool breeze from the plains slipped through her hair, she wondered, ‘the family must be gathered at the Great Hall now, feasting.’ Her thoughts went for her only sibling, her stoic, serious, hard-to-read younger brother. ‘I wonder if Hakuryuu’s managed to get along with Kougyoku and Kouha…?’

“Your Highness!!” Seisyun’s loud voice broke the first Imperial Princess’ concentration.

Hakuei watched her attendant as a blue-haired figure ran across the field with all his might, and waited for him to catch his breath before she inquired. “What is it?” This…nervous energy was uncharacteristic of him.

“A message,” he huffed and puffed between each few words, “came through…the Long Range…Clairvoyance Magic…”

Hakuei shared his alarm, though outwardly, her breathing pattern didn’t change. Ryousai would latch on any sign of weakness she exhibited. Hakuei couldn’t afford to show any. “What is His Majesty’s order?” she asked steadily.

But Seisyun shook his head frantically. “The King of Balbadd…” he began, and just as a question mark began to form in Hakuei’s mind, her attendant ploughed on. “…has asked Prince Hakuryuu’s hand in marriage!”

Her sword clanged as it fell to the ground.

* * *

_Alibaba-dono had been quiet for some time._

_Hakuryuu looked up as he finished copying a page of the sixth volume of ‘the Art of War’, stretching his arms as he waited for the ink to dry. From the corner of his eyes, he saw that blond head drooping._

_“Alibaba-dono?”_

_When there was no answer, Hakuryuu leaned forward, peering into his companion’s face. Those warm amber eyes were open, but they were blank._

_Alibaba-dono was asleep._

_‘Is that even possible!?’ The Prince blinked profusely._

_Well, the weather was pleasantly warm…and Alibaba-dono did gobble up a lot of dumplings…_

_The monarch’s neck continued to bend lower. Hakuryuu sighed, before proceeding to help move his guest to his bed. Thankfully, the moment he hit the pillows, Alibaba-dono closed his eyes._

_‘That was a little freaky,’ Hakuryuu thought absently as he pulled the blanket to cover the King’s shoulders. Alibaba-dono always wore boat-necked tops that bared so much of his torso._

_Up close, with his wheat-coloured long hair splayed all over the white of Hakuryuu’s sheet, chapped lips slightly parted as he breathed evenly, Alibaba-dono looked like a girl. He was certainly prettier than Princess Kougyoku._

_‘What a silly thought,’ Hakuryuu shook his head, and returned to his desk._

_At some point in time, Hakuryuu must have fallen asleep, too, because one moment, the text was flowing into his mind peacefully, and the next, everything was dark. And hot. It was hard to breathe. He was suffocating._

_A tall figure loomed before him against the glaring vermilion of the flames closing in around them, flesh angry red and full of blisters, clumps of hair falling from his scalp. Wild bloodshot eyes pinned him with wrath, with sharp resentment. ‘Swear to fight to the end!’ it rasped hoarsely. ‘Strike her down!’_

_Warm liquid splashed over his face, innards covering his chest and lap, squishy and pulsing-_

_A familiar face, delivering the harsh truth coldly. ‘There is nothing you can do, right?’_

“HAKURYUU!”

_The fourth Imperial Prince jolted to sight of Alibaba-dono crouching over him, both hands pulling his collars so hard his back was lifted off…his bed? They were both in Hakuryuu’s bed? Had the blonde moved him?_

_“Alibaba-dono-” Hakuryuu winced as he spoke. His left cheek stung. The blonde must have slapped him to wake him. He raised his hand to touch his cheek…and found it wet._

_The monarch shot him an apologetic smile. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, quiet and soothing._

_Hakuryuu inhaled sharply, and searched Alibaba-dono’s face. His expression was completely open, with no expectation or curiousity in his gaze._

_Hakuryuu balled his right fist and looked down. He knew, he knew he couldn’t tell anyone, not within these walls saturated with the rukh of Al-Tharmen. Not to someone he’d only known for days._

_Yet, he’d never been this overwhelmed by the desire to, in his nine years of endurance._

_Nine years. Had it been that long? Yet, he was still as powerless as he’d been, that toddler who was only alive due to the sacrifice of his brothers._

_And **that woman** ’s permission._

_“It’s not time to water the garden yet,” Alibaba-dono’s casual observation as he looked at the sky outside his window pulled Hakuryuu out of his sea of self-loathing. “Do you want to play Xiangqi?” Then, a shit-eating grin. "I'm so gonna wipe the floor with you!"_

_Hakuryuu nearly teared up. If he’d been alone, he’d have no one to prevent him from spiraling further into madness, while still letting him be. Not Hakuei, who would pry, or Seisyun, who would report everything to her. “Are you sure it won't be the other way round?” he bantered, feeling light despite having told himself, ‘it's only because he’s a stranger.’_

_His heart didn’t listen._

* * *

Emperor Koutoku appeared stunned, for a moment.

Then, “It’s not Kouha?”

From the periphery of his sight, Alibaba saw the beautiful androgyny twitch, his entire thin frame trembling in fury. The blonde feared for his life inwardly. Still, he ploughed on. “I have asked neither personally. It depends on them.”

Everyone gasped.

‘Did he just imply…’

‘Prince Kouha as the second choice?’

‘My, my! Prince Kouha’s pride won’t stand it!’

Alibaba chuckled in his mind as the whispers washed over him. Courtiers behaved the same way no matter where they were from.

“H-how rude!” Junjun shouted. Reirei nodded along. “We won’t stand this insult-”

“Stand down!” Kouha hissed, surprising Alibaba. The third Imperial Prince had been sitting still, despite how tightly he was clenching his jaws and how intensely he’d been sending murderous glares in the Balbaddian’s direction. “Alibaba, we’ll have a word after this, right?” he said through gritted teeth.

Alibaba held back from gulping visibly, and nodded. It wasn’t a question, despite ending as one.

Emperor Koutoku tapped his fingers on his armchair. “Kouha or Hakuryuu, you can marry either,” he remarked nonchalantly, the sentence, ‘I don’t care,’ clearly let out in the spaces between words.

Kouen sent his father a narrow-eyed look reactively. “Your Majesty-”

“Are you all kidding me?” The Oracle roared as he flipped his table, sending precious China all over the floor, breaking noisily like a hundred bells of unharmonious pitches had been knocked violently.

One drama barely averted, another would take place, it seemed.

“You weak _idiot_!” The red-eyed magician pointed at Alibaba, putting so much force into the gesture it almost looked like he was wielding his wand at the blonde instead, “You think you can take Hakuryuu away from me-”

“Your Eminence-” some of the veiled figures tried to placate the Oracle. “Please-”

“Oracle-dono!” The Prince with heterochromic eyes in question rose to his feet, interrupting the raving priest. “Please refrain from making a scene. It is improper for a man of your position. I would also like to add,” he raised his voice as the striking braided male was about to argue, “that I do not belong to you, Oracle-dono.”

The Oracle looked hurt, but it was gone in the blink of an eye. “I-”

“Hakuryuu,” Alibaba risked incurring the wrath of a Magi. “Let’s talk later?”

The dark-haired young man surveyed the Great Hall, judging the chaos. Alibaba was confident he had too many questions to refuse the blonde. True enough, Hakuryuu nodded. “I understand, Your Majes-” [1]

Alibaba cut in with a displeased look. He’d shown initiative by addressing his…friend casually. He didn’t want to start their conversation with polite distance.

Hakuryuu was taken aback, before he corrected himself. “Of course, Alibaba-dono.”

Suspicion featured on Kouen’s and Koumei’s faces prominently. No doubt, they must be thinking, ‘Since when did they become so close?’

“Why not now?” Emperor Koutoku shrugged as he sipped his rice wine. “No point stalling you here.”

“Your Majesty, we wouldn’t be so insolent-” Alibaba rebutted.

“Just go,” the monarch merely waved his hand dismissively. “And you don’t need to come back. It’s late; the banquet would have been over by then.”

“Hakuei’s coming!” the Oracle yelled as they exited the hall, “You won’t make any decision until you see her, will you?”

Hakuryuu didn’t give him any response.

The blonde trailed behind his dark-haired companion’s back silently as he navigated through the maze that was his home, his strides shorter with the blue robes that fell to his ankles restricting his movements [2]. Hakuryuu was dressed more neatly for the ceremony. Alibaba could see that his hair had been secured into the top knot more carefully; there were fewer flyaway hairs on his nape, the dark strands stark against his pale skin. Halfway through, the blonde realised that the younger man was bringing him to the place where they first met.

When Hakuryuu turned around, his face saying, ‘I’m all ears,’ Alibaba gushed immediately. “I’m sorry I didn’t ask you. I didn’t mean to pull the rug from under your feet at all!”

Hakuryuu seemed lost for words. There was only one question that mattered, really, but both knew no honest answer would be given, at this point in time.

So Alibaba kept talking. “I know it’s so sudden. You can’t be expected to be all right with being whisked away to a Kingdom thousand miles away from your homeland…and marry another man to boot. Would you like to see Balbadd first? Experience life there? If you don’t like it, you can come back to Kou-”

“Will you, really?” Hakuryuu spoke for the first time in their dialogue. “Will you really let me go after I’m that far into your scheme?”

“It’s not a scheme!” His declaration started out compellingly, but his conviction wilted in front of Hakuryuu’s unwavering gaze.

“Since the beginning, you’ve clearly made your demand to marry a man clear. It’s highly unusual,” the fourth Imperial Prince countered. Suddenly, blue and milky grey eyes widened in revelation, a trace of disgust flitting through them. “Are you…did you choose me because-” He jerked away and crossed his arms, as though to cover himself. [3]

“No!” Alibaba derailed that train of thought before it could take root. The blonde didn’t want the memories of their time spent together to be tainted by Hakuryuu’s perception of his perversion. “I like boobs as much as the next guy!”

The younger royalty didn't look convinced. “Even monarchs with such sexual inclinations would still fulfill their duties and keep concubinus at the side,” he murmured, shaking his head before meeting Alibaba’s eyes head on again. “If you’re honest, then there is no way a scheme is not involved!”

“Uncle Sinbad had been the one who tho-” Alibaba began hotly, and slapped his mouth shut.

Hakuryuu’s expression changed. “King Sinbad of Sindria is your relative?”

The blonde didn’t like the way the dark-haired royalty lit up when Sinbad was mentioned. Though, Alibaba supposed…he was like that too. “No…but he is…no, was, a family friend.”

“Was?” Hakuryuu turned pensive. “It was one of Lord Entei’s conditions to break ties,” he remarked astutely.

Alibaba clenched his fists. “I promise I will let you go. I won’t make you do things you don’t want to do,” he brought the focus back to…his proposal. There was nothing wrong with trying his best for Balbadd, the blonde told himself. And buying time for her wasn’t such a bad thing.

But Hakuryuu’s lips tugged upward to a sardonic smile, instead. “You’re just that confident that I won’t want to return, aren’t you?”

Alibaba tried to not be hurt. He sprung this up on his _friend_ , after all. “You’ve known me for a week, Hakuryuu. I swear, I never put on an act in front of you. Do you think I’ll marry someone I can’t see myself being with for the rest of my life?”

Finally, that steely gaze was thrown sideways.

“Please, let me have some time.”

And of course, Alibaba would grant him.

* * *

When the guests had left, Kouen and Koumei followed their father to his private chambers. “Your Majesty,” the eldest son started tentatively as he stood in his ruler’s doorway. “Hadn’t we agreed that Kouha-”

“I never feel at ease, having him here,” as usual, the Emperor behaved however he liked, extending one hand for a maid to pour wine into his cup without bothering to offer his children the seats opposite to him. “If he’s married away, he’ll lose his succession rights officially, won’t he? Not that his claim to the throne is strong enough to count,” he sniggered. “Still, the eyesore will be gone.”

Kouen and Koumei exchanged a glance, before they bowed to their ruler. “We apologized for having disturbed you, Your Majesty. Please have a pleasant evening.”

They waited until they were far enough they couldn’t be heard from the Emperor’s quarters, before Koumei rubbed his temples. “I can’t believe that simpleton sired us! To allow a wild card like Hakuryuu get together with that fox-”

“Ssh,” Kouen shut him up.

Koumei glared at his brother irately, until he spied a couple of those repulsive Al-Tharmen cronies lurking in the shadows. “Ah, Your Excellency,” the one with creepy eyes and unsymmetrical face grinned disturbingly at them. Koumei fought not to shudder. If he was not mistaken…that spook’s name was Markkio. “The turn of events is indeed troubling, isn’t it?” he rubbed his hands.

The other Al-Tharmen, a tall man with long green hair and checkered gold and black masquerade mask, stepped forward and bowed. “We have a suggestion on how to improve the situation, Your Excellency.”

Kouen narrowed his eyes at them. But he didn’t leave.

“Well?” he eventually prompted.

That unnerving grin widened.

* * *

“Alibaba.”

The Balbaddian froze as he made a beeline for his room. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath before turning to face his host. Alibaba owed Kouha this conversation.

“Good evening,” Alibaba began with a smile, but disposed his cheery disposition at the look on the androgyny’s face. Kouha was just observing him earnestly, neither anger nor indignity present at all.

Alibaba bowed. “I’m sorry, that was rude of me.”

Kouha tilted his head. “The mask? Or the way you made a mockery of me?” The eccentric darling of Kou’s court knew of Alibaba’s ways.

 _It was really a pity_ , the blonde thought as he replied the rhetorical question, “Both.”

The two of them stared at each other mutely for what seemed like an eternity until Kouha voiced out the big question. “Why?”

He was always the more courageous of them, Alibaba mused absently. “I notice you have been...putting effort to woo me toward the end of the week,” He apologized in his mind. For the non-sequitur, for the cruelty. “Even though you don’t really like me? That’s unlike you.”

Kouha looked like he’d been slapped on the face. Alibaba knew the third Imperial Prince didn’t deserve it, but Kouha could be persistent, and the blonde would rather the pink-haired royalty _understand_ that they would not work _._

“You’re wrong,” the resolve that entered Kouha’s eyes was entirely unexpected. “You accept me, all my quirks and whims. I won’t find a better spouse than you. I like you,” he revealed and stepped forward.

Alibaba was dumbfounded. He did not see this coming.

Still…he stood corrected. “More than you like Kouen?”

Kouha inhaled sharply, and stopped in his track, his eyes imploring Alibaba unblinkingly.

The smile Alibaba showed his host was genuine this time, and melancholic. “I know you can’t,” he patted Kouha on the shoulder as he walked past him. “So I won’t ask you to.”

( _I may be your ideal, but you are not who I need. I’m sorry._ )

* * *

After his fifth disastrous attempt at cooking, Hakuryuu simply sat behind his desk, and buried his face in his hands.

Today was the first, after six consecutive days, Alibaba-dono did not come over.

Hakuryuu asked him for space, sure, and he would have been displeased if the blonde visited him, but…the silence felt punishing somehow.

Yesterday, he’d been too shocked to think. Alibaba-dono was marked for marriage with Kouha-dono, the court knew that. Kouen and Koumei made that clear.

So Hakuryuu had never seen Alibaba-dono as anything other than a whimsical phase, someone to remember fondly and exchange letters with, an odd, friendly follower of Kouen Hakuryuu couldn’t ultimately trust.

Yet, Hakuryuu should have known. Alibaba was a fighter. He would find ways to slip through the loopholes, push and poke and skirt along the boundaries Kouen had forced around him, to achieve his own goals.

And – this should have been obvious, but Hakuryuu really had mostly seen Alibaba-dono as silly, had not seen how he dealt with people more powerful than him with respect yet also trying to twist them around his pinky – as a King, Alibaba-dono had allies. Generals and rulers Hakuryuu could have access to, if he took the blonde’s hand.

After having chased Judar away firmly, the next three days passed by similarly, Hakuryuu’s only company his contemplations. He had ruminated over the pros and cons, the opportunities and risks so many times he was paralyzed with indecision.

“Hakuryuu!” his solitude was finally broken when a familiar figure stepped into his lawn in a flurry of white feathers, long dark hair and pink robes. The fastest horse would need weeks to _fly_ from the military camp at the Tenzan Plateau to Rakushou, but Hakuryuu supposed, she’d borrowed _Paimon’s_ magic.

He breathed a little easier as Hakuei enveloped him into her arms, her warmth and scent surrounding him. He’d missed her so much. “Sister,” he couldn’t dam the reverence from flooding into his voice.

She’d been the primary source of his hesitation. After all, he needed to protect her.

“Hakuryuu,” she held his face and leaned her forehead against his. “I heard about what happened. Oh, Hakuryuu, I can’t bear to think-” her breath caught. She sounded like she was going to cry. The last time Hakuryuu heard her this way…it was just after he'd been pried out of death’s door. From the Great Fire.

“This is so unlike you,” Hakuryuu put up a brave front as he covered her hands. “Aren’t you an advocate of conquests without killings? Wouldn’t you normally say, ‘this is a good chance to be an Ambassador of Kou and spread the goodwill’?”

He succeeded in making her lips tug upward, though it was wan. “Of course,” she wounded her arms around Hakuryuu again and hugged him tightly, “but you mustn’t forget…a Consort in an occupied land is essentially a hostage. You’ll have to play by their rules with whatever little freedom you have…and everyone will be watching you.”

Hakuryuu barely stopped himself from digging his fingers into Hakuei’s back.

‘ _But Sister,_ ’ the little voice in his head nagged, even as he was soaking in his sibling’s presence.

_‘How is it any different than now?’_

TBC

Review please!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. I have a bad habit of imagining some dialogues in Japanese first. Here, Hakuryuu is about to say, 'Kashikoumarimasu,' which typically is a very polite 'I confirm' but not in this context. 'I understand' isn't the best translation though...help, anyone?  
> 2\. Imagine this kind of clothes: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dOJVmd1CRiM/Vd_HI61zWHI/AAAAAAAAjB4/YjbDrRCCixM/s1600/00cover.jpg  
> 3\. Sometimes, we fujoshi's are so used to BL they are as normal as hetero couples to us (oh my god, the number of stories where all the guy characters pair up with each other...kinda unrealistic to me). But in this universe, nope, sorry, it's not that normal, so Hakuryuu had to first react negatively to it. I'm sorry.


	11. Farewells and Beginnings

“En-nii! Brother Mei!” Kouha exclaimed in surprise as the two redheads walked into his dining room, the second Imperial Prince dragging his feet wobbly as he yawned.

“Mornin’,” Koumei reached out to ruffle his brother’s hair. Kouha stopped him in his track with a scowl.

“We just want to check how you’re doing,” En-nii said as he sat down. Before the maid rushed to get him a serving of breakfast, he caught her eyes and shook his head.

Kouha blinked as he plopped onto his chair. He felt touched. “I’m fine,” he shrugged, “it’s regrettable, coz his personality and requirements are really convenient, but you know me, En-nii. I’m quick to bounce back,” he grinned widely.

En-nii and Koumei did not respond. They just observed him.

Kouha’s expression cracked. The androgyny looked down. “…If anything, I’m sorry I couldn’t…”

Koumei smacked Kouha on the back. Without holding back.

Kouha glared at his brother. “Why you-”

“The blondie isn’t someone who could be seduced out of his mind,” the freckled redhead huffed as he finally sat down next to the pretty younger man. “Besides, we know you’re no good at faking. You don’t need to,” Koumei said casually as guilt ate into Kouha, “you’re most dazzling when you do as you want.”

Kouha stared dazedly at the lazy smile on Koumei’s face. “Brother Mei…”

That expression transformed to that of irritation in a blink of an eye. Koumei must have seen something that displeased him. Before Kouha could ask, the second Imperial Prince had rose to his feet and brandished his fan indignantly in the direction of the window. “You! What are you still doing here!?”

Walking along the corridor at the opposite end of the yard outside the dining hall was Alibaba, who seemed to be trying to slink away unnoticed to the kitchen.

The blonde’s face turned red, but he heeded the second Imperial Prince when Koumei beckoned him to come closer with an abrupt jerk of his hand, the gesture rather rude.

“Good morning, Your Excellency,” Alibaba’s tone and face were perfectly submissive, yet his gaze was bold.

En-nii narrowed his eyes. It was rare of the straight-faced man to display his displeasure so blatantly.

Alibaba, of course, did not back down. “Why the hostility?” he smiled innocently. “I have not breached our agreement.”

Koumei sneered. “But you have broken our trust. Going behind our backs, sneaking around-”

“I would not have to, if you had introduced your littlest brother to me,” the blonde countered challengingly. “Hakuryuu may not be connected to you by blood, but he is your brother, isn’t he?”

Koumei gritted his teeth. ‘Cheeky bastard!’ he murmured under his breath.

En-nii rose to his feet.

Everyone turned to watch him as the tall, imposing figure approached the blonde, finally stopping a foot in front of the slender Balbaddian. Kouha could tell Alibaba exerted most of his willpower on not taking a step back.

En-nii did not say or do anything. For one long, unnerving moment, they were just eying each other, the younger man wary and the older man pokerfaced.

Eventually, En-nii spoke. “You’ve made up your mind? You won’t regret it?”

Immediately, Alibaba looked affronted. “Are you threatening me? That is not what you guaranteed!”

En-nii closed his eyes and shook his head. Finally, he turned around and stalked off.

Feeling vindictive, Koumei scoffed at the blonde. “You have no right to stay as Kouha’s guest, having rejected your host and made fool of him. Get out!”

Alibaba puffed his cheeks. But for all his bravado, Kouha could sense that the blonde was avoiding his eyes. “Fine! We’ll rent a hotel room in town-”

Koumei blanched. “Wait, wait!” To let a guest of the royal family stay outside the Palace, what would the merchants think? “How about Hakuryuu’s place?”

“…I promised to give him time,” Alibaba’s gaze unconsciously shifted southwest, to the scarred prince's quarters.

The freckled man sighed and pinched his brows. “We’ll move you somewhere else inside the Palace, then.”

Alibaba huffed. “Whatever.”

Kouha felt these bickering might be…pre-mature. After all, if Hakuryuu refused Alibaba’s offer, the blonde still had to marry the third Imperial Prince.

What a joke, to start a marriage with this…this knowledge that his partner didn’t prefer him.

( _Who was Kouha kidding? Royalty doesn’t marry for love._ )

Kouha supposed the awkward wedding wouldn’t be realized, because four days later, he saw Hakuryuu loitering around his gate tentatively, wearing what appeared to be one of his better robes. Not his usual black pants and white cotton blouse.

“Hey,” the androgyny addressed him casually. “What’s up?”

“Good morning, Kouha-dono,” his…little brother brought his hands together in greeting. “Is Alibaba-dono around?”

So the dark-haired prince was here to give his answer, as Kouha had guessed. With how he was dressed…it was unlikely to be negative, huh. “He’s moved to the vicinity of the Hall of Character Cultivation.”

“I see,” understanding dawned on Hakuryuu’s face. “Thank you, Kouha-dono,” he left after a quick bow.

 Kouha returned to trimming his nails. It was best to move on with life.

* * *

“How could you have accepted this so calmly!?” Hakuryuu heard a heated shout as he was nearing the place Kouha-dono had told him…the most dilapidated, the most neglected part of the Palace, where Kouha-dono’s mother was ‘banished’ to once she was pronounced mentally unstable. It was said to be haunted by her, after her passing [1].

This was the result of Alibaba-dono’s association with him.

The anger was replied with a familiar laugh.

“Unwind before you give yourself ulcers, Tawfiq,” Alibaba-dono looked completely at home as he scribbled something on a piece of paper at a low table near the veranda, making use of the sun as a source of light and heat. His legs were crossed casually, long blonde locks tied loosely with a random piece of rope, the collar of his pajamas hanging open. “I did offend my host.”

Hakuryuu didn’t even think he himself would sit on the floor.

The large-framed bodyguard still looked miffed. “Let’s just stay at an inn.”

Alibaba-dono’s expression changed. “Is your bed uncomfortable?”

“Ah, no, Your Majesty! Please don’t be concerned about me!” The red patches on the tanned man’s cheeks were fueled by a different emotion, this time. “It’s your dignity I want to protect.”

Something flashed across Alibaba-dono’s eyes, before he smiled wanly. “Are you disappointed, that this does not bother me? I used to live in the streets, after all.”

Tawfiq appeared conflicted, like he did not know what to say.

‘Live in the streets…?’ Hakuryuu pondered, before deciding to let his presence known. It was not his intention to ‘save’ the muscular man from discomfort; he just couldn’t stand to eavesdrop any longer. “Alibaba-dono,” he bowed.

“Ah, Hakuryuu!” Alibaba-dono quickly rose to his feet, re-arranging his clothes and hair as he approached the other royalty. “What a pleasant surprise!” he grinned welcomingly, seeming genuinely happy to see him.

Was Alibaba-dono so certain that he was here to bring a good news? Hakuryuu tried not to doubt him. “Good morning.”

Alibaba-dono began to fuss. “I don’t have anything to serve you…or even somewhere clean for you to sit-”

“Alibaba-dono, please,” Hakuryuu belatedly realized…the blonde had always been the one to visit him. This was the first time the roles were reversed. “It does not matter-”

“I know! Let’s take a walk!” Alibaba-dono’s smile did not show any strain as he shifted to the left…hiding Tawfiq and his other bodyguards from view. Still, the fourth Prince could see…antipathy in their deference.

It was expected. Hakuryuu understood. No matter how one sugarcoated it, the marriage would seal Kou’s colonization of Balbadd.

(What Alibaba-dono could do was only to maximise his share of power. By all means necessary.)

 _Don’t judge. You’re no different._ Hakuryuu let the monarch lead him out of his quarters, into one of the small gardens. They didn’t talk along the way, but Alibaba-dono didn’t seem bothered. In fact, Alibaba-dono was the most relaxed Hakuryuu had seen him; the tension that was normally keeping his posture upright was just…not there. As they were heading for the stone chairs and table one of the Imperial Kou Princesses had installed to savour tea amongst her flowers, a young maid, a child no older than seven, walked by them with an empty silver tray. She must be returning to the kitchen after a delivery to Kourin.

“Ah, Min-chan!” Alibaba-dono called the little girl, and approached her, bending down to talk to her as she stopped and turned her large eyes on the teen. “Min-chan! Please do me a favour? I’d like to have some buns for brunch, please! And something to wash it down?” He pleaded.

Hakuryuu blinked as the maid peered at Alibaba-dono calculatingly. Even though the mismatched-eyed Prince had warned the blonde that the kitchen took no such requests from him-

‘Min-chan’ stretched out her hand, palm upward. “Where’s my wreath?”

“A-ah…” Alibaba-dono looked around, before he sighed, “there are not enough flowers to weave one...what if I do up your hair, instead?”

The child scrunched her nose, clearly in contemplation. Alibaba-dono clucked, before plucking a few stalks of helenium daisies, anemones and crocuses [2] with one hand and dragging her to the chair with his other. He settled her on his lap, and began to undo her bun and plait her hair deftly, humming absently.

Hakuryuu watched, surprised even though this really wasn’t a side of Alibaba-dono he hadn’t seen, as the blonde deftly molded the maid’s hair into shapes around the flowers.

“Here!” Alibaba-dono presented the little girl with her reflection on the back of the tray. “Wooow,” she gasped in pure delight, a child’s innocence, and beamed at him. “Sure, I’ll get some for you, Nii-chan!” she skipped as she left.

Hakuryuu sat opposite to the Balbaddian as Alibaba-dono waved to his ‘friend’. “You’re good,” he commented.

The blonde brightened, “I used to do up Mariam’s hair. She’s like a little sister to me,” his face fell slightly, his gaze a little faraway. “How nostalgic.”

Hakuryuu voiced out an earlier observation of his companion. “You look very relaxed, Alibaba-dono.”

“That so?” The blonde chuckled, the tone a little derisive. “Can’t take the slum out of me after all these years, huh?” he murmured under his breath.

Hakuryuu leaned forward. “The slum?” he prodded.

Alibaba-dono turned to him and surveyed him for a while, before he finally nodded. “I’m half-commoner. My mother was a harlot. It’s a public secret.”

“Oh,” Hakuryuu had heard rumours, though he had never read it on any documents, “like Kougyoku.”

“Who?” Alibaba tilted his head.

“The eighth Imperial Princess. Her mother was an unknown courtesan. As far as I know…Kougyoku just appeared in the Palace, before I was old enough to remember,” Hakuryuu remarked neutrally.

Royalty was just blood relation to victors. It could be easily overridden.

Just like what Koutoku did.

“I see…” Alibaba-dono relaxed further, when it was clear that the fourth Prince wouldn’t react with disgust. The difference was so minute, but Hakuryuu managed to catch it. “I didn’t enter the Palace until I was ten, though. Father came for me, after mother died.”

The blonde said it so lightly, yet there was something in his cadence, in his expression, than denoted sadness. Alibaba-dono held his mother dearly.

Hakuryuu was envious of him.

“…was it hard? Living on the streets?” He asked, just to chase the dark thoughts out of his mind.

“Money was always tight, of course,” Alibaba-dono leaned back in his chair to catch the sun, closing his eyes against the warmth. “We did things like scavenging trash, polishing shoes, guiding tourists and any odd jobs I could get my hands on...”

 _We? Mariam and him?_ Hakuryuu decided not to pry.

The chat was interrupted by Min-chan, who handed Alibaba-dono a wooden basket with a wink. “I got you lotus and pork buns!”

Her portion of breakfast, Hakuryuu realized. Empty buns were slightly more abundant for the servants to help themselves with, but certainly not those with fillings.

The blonde King patted the maid carefully on the head, thumb rubbing her temple gently. “Thank you, dear.” He gave her a charming smile, a royalty’s. Anyone receiving it would feel special.

As Alibaba-dono set up the table, Hakuryuu couldn’t help but see him with newfound respect bubbling in his chest. No wonder the blonde was so resilient and creative. He’d learned to win hearts because it was necessity. The other teen had seen so much more of the world, of life, than him.

Unlike Hakuryuu, who had relied on others’ kindness to survive.

“Where were we?” Alibaba-dono hummed, and after Hakuryuu raised one brow and said, “Child labour,” he laughed. “Those were the days of freedom…” Without warning, he bent forward, crowding into Hakuryuu’s personal space with a conspiratorial expression, golden eyes twinkling like he was going to share a secret. “Sometimes, I like to sneak out of the palace, be nobody on the streets again, just so I can have my feet on the ground. I was never popular with the ladies as a regular guy,” the blonde looked annoyed, yet his scowl quivered, like he couldn’t contain the smile from breaking out, “but I’d rather have this muscular hostess called Margaret squeeze me in a crushing hug, than have pretty ladies who had no interest in who I am, try to seduce me, y’know?”

Ah, that grin emerged, after all, bright as gold, as the sun he so loved. For some reason, Hakuryuu felt breathless.

“Have you sneaked out to the city, Hakuryuu?”

“No.” Alibaba-dono’s elation dropped a little. With this kind of answer, there were only two ways the blonde could continue. Before the older man could change the topic of conversation, Hakuryuu stood up and steeled himself. “Please take me along with you, the next time you sneak out in Balbadd.”

The fourth Prince watched those amber eyes widening in comprehension, before Alibaba-dono too, got up to his feet. “Hakuryuu…” there was awe in his face, a little disbelief, before he took Hakuryuu’s hand and placed one knee on the ground. “Thank you,” he whispered reverently as he pressed his forehead against said hand. “I promise I will protect and take care of you.”

From the corner of his eyes, Hakuryuu could see some passing servants stopping to gawk at them. By noon, half the Palace would have found out about this. The fourth Prince sighed softly, before he helped the blonde get back to his feet. “Thank you for choosing me, Alibaba-dono.”

So their engagement began.

* * *

“Congratulations.”

Hakuryuu looked up from the wooden chest he was stacking some scrolls he’d copied from the Southern Three Halls into. It was mostly empty except for some seeds he’d determined had the best chances of surviving Balbaddian climate, spare blades for his glaive and mementos from Hakuei, before gifts from diplomats and people he’d never talked to in his fifteen years of life started pouring in.

And the thin, wide boxes carried by Kourin’s attendant would join the pile, Hakuryuu was sure.

“Thank you, Your Highness,” nevertheless, he turned away from his luggage and showed the appropriate level of gratitude to her.

He thought the business was concluded then; Kourin had never attempted to talk to him even once before, unlike Kougyoku whom Hakuryuu occasionally interacted with when she hung around Judar.

However, the sixth Imperial Princess stepped into his quarter without a care, her face aloof and unapologetic, much like of her older sisters’. “I’d like you to try the clothes first. They had not been tailored with your measurements. I apologize. It’s short notice.” [3]

Indeed, Hakuryuu only had a few days to pack and say his goodbyes. Some higher-ups got wind of Hakuryuu’s answer before sunset, and before he knew it, a celebratory-cum-farewell dinner had been scheduled for him.

It didn’t matter. Hakuryuu didn’t have many possessions, and the only people he was sorry to leave were Hakuei and Seisyun.

“It’s short notice,” Hakuryuu agreed, letting the not-apology slide as the boxes were opened. Kourin nodded brusquely, and momentarily left him alone to undress.

The fourth Prince caressed the silk, the embroidered patterns of white bamboos on dark blue, the phoenix on the clouds, blood red peonies on gold. He tried the robe with the silver dragon, the only one seemingly meant for him. The linings were layered and delicate, the sleeves long and effeminate. The fabrics flared around his hips and feet, emphasizing his small waist. [4]

“It suits you,” Kourin’s statement made him jump.

Hakuryuu didn’t know if he’d been daydreaming for too long, or Kourin just deemed he’d finished changing and pushily barged in. All the same, he let her fix the tresses around his legs, the creases on his sash.

“…you know,” she began, red eyes still trained on the silk, “I never have thought we would end up in a similar role.”

Hakuryuu stiffened.

He too, had never thought he would be a Prince Consort of Kou’s colony.

Those slender, soft fingers who’d never wrapped themselves around a sword handle suddenly tightened around the fabric on his sides.

“My sisters have told me a lot of things to prepare me. I don’t have time to share all of them, but let me tell you one,” her gaze was direct. For a moment, Hakuryuu thought he was looking at Entei, at Koumei, the purposeful expression they wore as they departed for conquests. The family resemblance was so strong.

“No matter what happens, don’t let them strip these off you,” she hissed. The first time he’d seen her so unladylike. “Before anything else, you’re a Prince of Kou. Wear our clothes with pride, with your head held high!” [5]

Hakuryuu inhaled sharply.

( _How could the country matter so much to them…when they’ve let Al Tharmen trample all over her?_ )

He bent his head quietly. “Thank you, Kourin-dono. For the advice, and once again for the presents.”

“You’re welcome,” She appeared pleased with herself. “Best of luck.”

“You too,” Hakuryuu returned emptily.

He’d stopped believing in fate a long time ago.

* * *

“Congratulations! We wish you a long and prosperous marriage!”

“Thank you, thank you,” Alibaba smiled widely at the unfamiliar face sprouting the hundredth and something insincere well-wishes, keeping half an eye on the scarred Prince next to him. Hakuryuu had fell rather silent since a while ago, the lines around his lips strained. Alibaba had to rescue him.

 _I’ll suggest…a toilet break, may be?_ The blonde pondered, and was about to open his mouth, when a dark-haired woman with familiar grey blue eyes and facial structure smiled at him. The beauty mark on her chin was a dead giveaway.

“Sister!” the younger teen came to life before Alibaba, the light in his mismatched eyes unpretentious.

“Hakuryuu,” she smiled softly at them, “may I borrow your fiancé?”

Alibaba was surprised when Hakuryuu blushed. Others had referred to them similarly throughout the evening, but this was the first time such a reaction was ignited. “O-of course,” he stuttered.

Alibaba’s throat was dry. Suddenly, he felt self-conscious. Of how he dressed, how he’d behaved.

“Shall we?” Hakuryuu’s older sister – Hakuei, if his memories didn’t fail Alibaba – cocked her head.

“Wait a moment, please,” Alibaba felt none of the bravado he’d plastered to his face, a fragile mask. “Could Hakuryuu join us…not to be with us, I mean,” he added quickly, quelling the urge to flail his arms with all this willpower. “Just an excuse to take a walk together…then we can separate. A bit of fresh air would do both of us good, I think.”

Alibaba felt cold sweat dripping down his nape as Hakuei stared at him, and breathed in relief when she finally smiled. “Sure.”

(The blonde had missed the stunned, then appreciative look her brother had sent him.)

The stroll down the central garden Hakuei had brought him to felt like _ages,_ the silence unnerving. Alibaba tried very hard not to start small talk, because he so knew he was going to babble and put his foot in his mouth. Half the time, he was deliberating if Hakuei was going to murder him, because she was in the army, right? Hakuryuu had said that she even commanded a platoon-

“I’m glad.”

Alibaba’s heart stopped. Has she really…?

“You seem like a good boy,” her smile was so gentle, her demeanor kind. Even after he had, literally, stole her only remaining sibling from under her rug.

“That’s true,” Hakuei chuckled. Crap, had Alibaba said it out loud? “But you’re really attentive. You’ve began to understand his little tells, haven’t you?”

“Not really. It’s just…I’ve been with him every day for a couple of weeks…I can be an irritating person, so it’s only his irritation I can catch, really,” Alibaba berated himself in his mind. _Well done, real smooth, Alibaba Saluja. You dork!_

Hakuei shook her head. “Some have been with him for years…and chose not to see.”

There was a beat of silence as Hakuei looked at the darkening sky, vermilion blending into lavender and blue as dark as her hair.

“When I first heard of you, I thought you were a pervert,” the older woman muttered.

An arrow pierced Alibaba straight through the heart. “I-I-” he gasped in shock. “I know asking to marry another man in weird-”

“It’s not that,” Hakuei interrupted uncharacteristically, “there are all sorts of preferences, really… To have chosen Hakuryuu over Kouha, I thought perhaps you have a fetish for scars.”

Her sentences didn’t help. “U-uh, Princess Hakuei-”

“You don’t see him with lust, I know that now,” the first Imperial Princess redirected her gaze at Alibaba, and he was captured. It was as honest as her brother’s, but wiser, somewhat all-seeing. In his wildest imagination, Alibaba wondered if he could have chosen her. She wouldn’t have accepted a brat like him.

“But that means you need him for something else. There is no such thing as free lunch.”

Alibaba didn’t throw his gaze, even though his guilt must have been plain in view. Her words were a knife, plunged deeply into his heart.

Her smile was sad, but suffused with hope. “Whatever it is you need him for…please make sure he’s safe.”

Alibaba placed one fist above his arching organ. “I swear,” he said readily, with as much conviction as he could.

That smile widened a tiny fraction. “Thank you, Alibaba.”

* * *

“Hakuryuu.”

The fourth Prince stopped in his track. “What is it, Oracle-dono?” He asked, without turning in his direction. There was no way he could mistake that voice.

Soon enough, Judar appeared before him, his crimson eyes imploring.

“Take me with you.”

Hakuryuu refrained from chuckling in the high priest’s face.  It was disrespectful, no matter how fed up he’d been with fending Judar off. He had never understood the Magi’s obsession with him. He certainly never did anything that suggested he appreciated the Al Tharmen’s puppet’s persistent attempts to reach out to him.

“I do not think that is possible. Please think of your position as Kou’s Magi, Oracle-dono,” Hakuryuu evaded the bangled hand he knew was coming for his shoulder.

Judar bit his lips. As expected, he didn’t give up. “Before you depart to Balbadd, at least conquer a dungeon with me!” He attempted one last time, gesturing wildly.

Seriously? Hakuryuu sighed. “I am afraid there is no time for that, Oracle-dono.”

Hakuryuu was about to walk away when his wrist was seized into an iron grip.

“Oracle-dono,” Hakuryuu started with alarm, until he felt Judar pushing an object into his palm.

“When you feel you’re in danger,” Judar explained as the scarred royalty stared at the red rope in his hand. “When you feel you need to escape…just activate the enchantment.” The Magi enclosed Hakuryuu’s fingers with his other hand, pressing his skin against the fine ridges as Judar's voice grew rough. “It’s been imprinted with your magoi.”

Hakuryuu opened his mouth to say something…but he was rendered speechless. “O-oracle-do-”

Judar’s gaze was desperate as he dug his fingers into the Prince’s flesh, looking and yet not looking at Hakuryuu at the same time. “No matter what, stay alive,” he gritted his teeth.

And in a second, he was gone, leaving behind just a bruise around Hakuryuu’s arm.

“I’ll see you again, my King.”

TBC

So sorry for the delay. Review please!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Not sure if Kouha’s mom is still alive or not. If you know, please let me know.  
> 2\. http://www.bhg.com/gardening/flowers/perennials/fall-garden-plants/  
> 3\. Much like Japanese kimono which doesn’t have to have exact measurements. I imagine Kou’s traditional robes can fit a range of body sizes, as long as there are extra fabric to be tucked into the sash or folded around one’s body more. Generally, they favour those with small bodies, and Hakuryuu is scrawny.  
> 4\. Imagine something like the blue robe draped over Hakuryuu in this cover http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=37589286  
> 5\. I remember reading Versailles no Bara a long time ago, where Maria Antonia was required to leave behind everything of Austria as she crossed the border to France. She could not carry even a single thread of Austria. http://mangafox.me/manga/versailles_no_bara/v01/c002/22.html. That was the inspiration for this scene.


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